Summary: 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"
Sleeper
(2000)
