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Sleeper
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Editorial Reviews:
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Miles Monroe has been cryogenically frozen for 100 years. When he's illegally awakened, he discovers he's a wanted criminal in world that has drastically changed from the one he left behind.
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If Interiors was Woody Allen's Bergman movie, and Stardust Memories was his Fellini movie, then you could say that Sleeper is his Buster Keaton movie. Relying more on visual/conceptual/slapstick gags than his trademark verbal wit, Sleeper is probably the funniest of what would become known as Allen's "early, funny films" and a milestone in his development as a director. Allen plays Miles Monroe, cryogenically frozen in 1973 (he went into the hospital for an ulcer operation) and unthawed 200 years later. Society has become a sterile, Big Brother-controlled dystopia, and Miles joins the underground resistance--joined by a pampered rich woman (Diane Keaton at her bubbliest). Among the most famous gags are Miles's attempt to impersonate a domestic-servant robot; the Orgasmatron, a futuristic home appliance that provides instant pleasure; a McDonald's sign boasting how-many-trillions served; and an inflatable suit that provides the means for a quick getaway. The kooky unthawing scenes were later blatantly (and admittedly) ripped off by Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. --Jim Emerson
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Sleeper
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User Comments About Sleeper
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The best of the 'funny' Allen movies
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Some of it is genuinely funny, others of it I can do without. Good stuff all. But even I, who seem to have a big chunk of funny bone missing, can appreciate "Sleeper." It's really a funny film. Of course it has the slapstick that I just don't get, and the slapstick is enhanced by the musical score, played by Allen's own Ragtime Rascals ensemble. I just don't have a taste for slapstick. Her metamorphosis from spoiled and bubble-headed member of the dystopian society to hard-boiled but still a bit bubble-headed guerilla fighter is masterfully portrayed. But for my money, the primary selling point of the film is the performance put in by Diane Keaton.
The chemistry between her and Allen, which culminates in "Annie Hall," is already obvious. Allen in character is what fans of his earlier movies have come to expect and love: neurotic, over-sexed, and lovable. I'm sure he does them very well. I'm generally not a fan of the early "funny" Woody Allen movies. But what I especially appreciate is the social satire embedded in the film's gags: the silliness of celebrityhood and conventions seen from a distant (future) perspective, the cult of personality that builds up around leaders, the deadly seriousness of freedom fighters, the pretensions of the artistic and beautiful crowd, and the new heights to which we jaded insisters on immediate gratification will go (the orgasmatron and the drug ball) to get our next fix.
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Certainly Lives Up To Its Title!
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A real sleeper and certainly not Allen's or anyone else's for that matter better moments makes this not recommended. To call this Allen's "tribute" to Keaton and Marx would actually be insulting to both whose works although a lot older than this are a lot funnier. "Take the Money and Run" by the way is a far, far better comedy and film and thankfully Allen as a movie maker vastly improves his output over the years since this film. I found it very difficult to stay awake watching much of this film and it certainly was a "sleeper" for me although a few of Allen's one-liners were actually really funny even for today's audiences although the vast majority of the film and consequently the jokes do not age well. The picture quality is VHS quality and the sound quality is poor and there are no special features worth speaking about on this dvd version of the film.
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Self absorbed people being self absorbed. For social commentary movies, this is a classic. Was this Sienfeld before Seinfeld.
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He awakens in a brave new world and must overthrow the repressive government. He is hilarious as he is in all his early films.
His comedy derives from a willingness to laugh at himself. Would today's audiences laugh at the robot bit.
He defines comedy as "tragedy plus time." Woody was the Graucho Marx of his era.
Diane Keaton became his counterpart. Woody Allen is Miles Monroe, owner of a health food store, frozen 200 years after entering the hospital for a routine operation.
Comedy being relative, different generations laugh at different things.
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