No Sleep 'til Madison

Jim Gaffigan shows he's got some serious acting chops in addition to his now taken for granted comedic genius. I saw the film at the inaugural Mid-Coast Film Fest in the Quad Cities, and the packed house loved it. (It also took home best feature honors from the fest).

Gaffigan's Owen is at times hysterical and at others pathetic, but always real. His road-trip buddies all deliver solid performances and the film maintains a focused and fast moving pace--the latter being especially impressive given that directing credits were bestowed on no less than three different filmmakers. Something tells me these guys are all very big fans of Wisconsin high school hockey.

But I'm living proof you don't need to be a hockey fanatic to enjoy this film immensely. Keep an eye out for two particularly funny scenes: One involving some foreign language karaoke and the other a "pond ball" game between our heroes and some crusty locals.

I saw this movie at the Wisconsin Film Festival. First of all, it was a tough ticket to get! The first showing sold out quickly. Fortunately (and deservedly) the movie won its category and had a second showing.

This movie is billed as a "comedy," but don't be fooled. In addition to some hysterical laughs, there is a very dramatic storyline when we all face the inevitable -- growing up. This movie is so well written that at times you are laughing and crying at the same time. ("I realize I have been wearing my space holster too long." Owen)

I felt like I was on the jinxed roadtrip because the dialogue is so sharp and true, the acting is so well done (I swear I went to high school with some of these guys!), and the themes are issues we all face as we grow up, get "real lives" and move on...Or, do we?