Director: Woody Allen
I'd seen Sleeper before, long ago, when my dad inexplicably began showing me Woody Allen movies at around age 11. I think I'd already seen the comedies I wanted to see at the local video store, so he tried to get me into Allen films. I didn't get it then, but now that I do get it, I'm not sure I wanted to.
Cool stories aside, there's all the hallmarks of a Woody Allen film here - absurd quips, Marx Brothers' homages, feelings of inadequacy, mistrust of anything outside of New York City, and yet it's all set in the year 2173. It makes for one bizarre film, a weirdo pastiche of slapstick humor, quips about 1973 current events, and commentary on dystopias (I guess?).
Sleeper, like Annie Hall and Love and Death after it, relies heavily on the chemistry between Allen and Keaton; Keaton is outstanding at participating in all the absurdity that's put on screen. Many of the gags may fall flat, but it's a movie I still wanted to like.
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