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Posted in: Blu-Ray, Movies, Review | Tagged: Too Much Sleep
Too Much Sleep: A Rediscovered Indie Gem about Everyday Oddness
Too Much Sleep is a rediscovered indie gem of an indie comedy, a low-stakes detecitve story and shaggy dog comedy in the New Jersey suburbs
Article Summary
- Rediscovered indie film Too Much Sleep captivates with its low-stakes detective story in suburban New Jersey.
- Sundance 2001 favorite was lost due to distributor's bankruptcy, now revived by Whole Grain Pictures.
- Follows sleepy security guard Jack's comedic quest with guidance from Uncle Dave, a local deli owner.
- Director Maquiling crafts a surreal, gentle comedy based on a Filipino legend, urging authentic storytelling.
Too Much Sleep is a rediscovered indie gem of an indie comedy they don't make anymore, but more people should. Originally a minor hit at Sundance in 2001, it was lost in limbo when its distributor went bankrupt. It was acquired by Whole Grain Pictures and released on Blu-Ray and VOD. It's the kind of quirky indie movie that doesn't get enough attention now when movies, indie or otherwise, are caught up in needing to be packaged with stars and hyped as the Next Big Thing.
Sleep-eyed security guard Jack Crawford (Mark Palmieri) lives with his mom in the suburbs of New Jersey, barely able to get out of bed because he doesn't have much to make it worthwhile. When he gets his gun stolen, he embarks on a minor epic odyssey to get it back before he gets into big trouble. He asks for help from his best friend's uncle Dave (Pasquale Gaeta), the local deli owner and possibly minor gangster with a silver tongue who seems to know everybody. Jack's story is a low-stakes detective story, a coming-of-age story, and a shaggy dog comedy with a gentle, philosophical meditation on life in the suburbs. The title Too Much Sleep refers to Jack's state of being, walking through life not yet awake, not yet an adult. Jack goes from one place to another like Orpheus in the underworld, only it's New Jersey, sometimes with Uncle Dave, sometimes without, taking to people and listening to their stories, which seem ordinary but take on increasing layers of surrealism and quiet oddness. With Uncle Dave's guidance, Jack starts to get places, but is it really where he wants to end up?
Too Much Sleep, Not Save the World
Too Much Sleep is like a gentle, suburban version of Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets. You could say it follows the same filmmaking dynamics of Mean Streets – the low budget, the real locations, the use of unknown actors – to tell an intimate story from a setting the filmmaker knows. Director David Maquiling based the story on an old Filipino legend, transposed to New Jersey, and Uncle Dave is like a shaman guiding Jack on his journey to, well, some kind of awakening, or at least a little bit of growing up.
You'd think that with smartphones that can film movie-quality video, there would be a huge wave of filmmakers making their own stories now, but there hasn't been. Too Much Sleep is the kind of personal film that can be shot on a phone these days and looks as good as any movie made professionally. If anything, it should be a rallying cry for more authentic storytelling in film.
Too Much Sleep is out on Blu-Ray and VOD.
Too Much Sleep
8/10
A lost, little-seen indie gem from 2001 that's been recently rediscovered, Too Much Sleep is the kind of low-key independent comedy they don't make anymore, a low-stakes detective story and shaggy dog comedy that's like a funnier, gentler suburban version of Scorsese's Mean Streets. The hero goes on a journey to the underworld, or rather, New Jersey as he meets people who tell him their stories, which get increasingly surreal and odd in an unwitting coming-of-age story.
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