OperaLA
I must admit that I do not know whether the film's success is due to, or in spite of, the multiple writers. When one is aware that several writers, including the director, wrote different scenes, it is a challenge to find just what the cohesive factor is that makes the film so engaging. Admittedly, some scenes are ineffective (the initial poker scene), while some are wildly successful (the poker scene invaded by the characters played by Joey Lauren Adams and Parker Posey). It is one of those films that is MORE than the sum of its parts.After several viewings on DVD (I wish I had seen it in the theater), I realized that many details, at first insignificant, contribute to its impact. The film begins broadly, simply and beautifully -- Stolz, Tilly, and Scheffer are on the highway coming home from a road trip. The open western landscape is practically a metaphor for their friendship. However, the film slowly narrows in, and as the love triangle develops,the view gets less broad. A beautifully conceived and shot example of this is the poolside party scene that begins as a B&W camcorder viewfinder "point of view", then cuts to full color at a particular point of introspection. It sent chills up my spine.The visual details in the location designs and cinematography are rich and revealing, and seem more considered and professional than one finds in most low budget independent films. However, this strong consistency in production values neither spotlights nor hides the writing dissimilarities.I strongly recommend this film.
George Parker
"Sleep With Me" is an all dialogue novelty which tells of two men (Stoltz, Scheffer) who love the same woman (Tilly). One marries her while the other hides his true feelings only to make them known at a particularly inappropriate time. At issue is; who's gonna get the babe in the end. "SWM" is dialogue chapter and verse and very little more. Lots and lots of snappy patter while playing poker, gabbing at a soiree, or riding in a car....just talk, talk, and more talk. Oh, yes, then some more talk...yadayada-freakin-yada. The conclusion is sufficiently unsatisfying to make one wonder if the destination was worth the journey. Okay stuff for those who don't mind romantic comedies without romance and can enjoy a novelty film which uses six screenwriters in a seemly but unseamless way, each doing his own thing. (C+)
bob the moo
Spanning the time from the marriage of Joe to Sarah through the various stages of their marriage breakdown, this follows Joe's best friend Frank as he tries to hold his life together despite his love for Sarah.Written by about six different writers, each doing a different section. It all plays like the opposite of Friends. The group of friends are less polished and in some respects seem more realistic, however in other scenes their activities seem very far fetched and outlandish to be real. However at the end of the day the central strand of the story around Joe, Sarah and Frank is good and interesting. The only problem with this strand is that more time is spent watching Joe and Sarah experience problems rather than falling in love - this makes their relationship hard to support or believe in. Whereas in contrast Frank's longing for Sarah is shown to be developing and it makes it easier to support this.The film's main weakness is that the supporting characters are little more than fonts for witty banter and never convince as real people. Stoltz is actually quite good, however Sheffer is allowed more audience sympathy and comes off better. Tilly is excellent (and is very beautiful) she brings the torn wife to life. Of the rest of the cast there are plenty of indie faces, but the real stealer is Tarantino in a short cameo as a party guest talking animatedly about Top Gun's homoerotic sub text.Overall it is very rough around the edges and at times feels a little bitty, however it is refreshingly free of mushy sentiment and is quite funny.
smatysia
I wonder sometimes about IMDb's "Weighted average" on movie ratings. This film has a "weighted" score of 5.7, but a real average of 7.0. What's up with that? Anyway, I liked this film. I had never heard of it, but taped it from cable some time ago. It is a quiet film, basically a character study. Eric Stoltz and Craig Sheffer did fine jobs as the male leads. I was impressed by the beauty of Joey Lauren Adams in a small role. (I was unfamiliar with her.) Most impressive, though, was the performance of Meg Tilly. She just exuded a semi-shy charm all through the movie. She seems to have dropped out of sight in recent years, and that's too bad. This film is worth a rental. I would buy it if it were on DVD. Grade: B+
AD
