Wake Up, Leonard

WAKE UP LEONARD was endearing. Awkward and full of himself, he still engages the signs, portents and people in his life... looking for self-knowledge. I was lucky to catch it at Heartland Festival in downtown Indianapolis. The acting was superb and a brand of humor that I find witty but grounded in reality... albeit L. A. reality! The director spoke after the screening and I couldn't believe that the scenes were improvised. Although Leonard is a handful I still found myself sympathizing with his reckless journey to self actualization. The humor in this movie was moving! A great film to laugh AND go deep. This is the directors first full length feature is a hit and I'll look forward to seeing what else she makes.

This was a pointless movie about a pointless man who went around doing pointless things, having pointless fantasies, and saying pointless things.

Absolutely none of it made sense, and I still do not know why we didn't turn the streaming off after the first ten minutes.

Leonard was a man who was clearly too lazy to shave, and during most of the film, his hair was a mess.

He talked like a valley girl, which was like, annoying.

I read somewhere that the movie was unscripted, and that, at least, is understandable.

Don't waste your time on this bit of nonsense. Surely you have better things to do.

This movie has all the makings of a classic. We follow a day in the life of a self-sabotaging mental gymnast, Leonard, who is trying to win back the affection of his ex-boyfriend Christo. I learned that this film was made without a script and each scene was improvised. With that in mind, this movie was even more satisfying the second time around.

Between-jobs actor Leonard is a psychological mess. He is too dependent on the opinions of others, gets unsolicited advice from family, friends, and strangers, intones self-affirmation messages to himself, monitors his own vibe too much, and engages in meditation to boost his mood.

It is moving day for him, during the Christmas season. In addition to the usual stresses of moving, he gets a call from his ex-boyfriend to meet and "catch up". He impulsively sets the date for that evening, then spends the rest of the day wondering if he is up for it, or whether he should wimp out and cancel.

This is another of those films that I have difficulty empathizing with the protagonist, so it is rated a bit lower than it might otherwise deserve.

Found this feature to be hilarious, witty and relatable when thinking of how the millennial generation deals with anything less than easy. Loved the supportive sibling relationship showcased in Wake Up Leonard, and was moved by Leonard's flashback to early childhood.