If you haven’t heard of Mike Birbiglia, or read his great book, or listened to him on This American Life… well, you should.  He’s funny and sweet and I have been a fan for a long time.  This weekend his movie, Sleepwalk With Me, based on the book and produced by this nerd, is coming out in limited release.  Watch this funny video from Joss Whedon about why you should boycott his movie (seriously, the confluence of all my favorite geeks here almost makes my head explode.)

The story is simple, basically it’s about how Mike was feeling a lot of anxiety and pressure around getting married to his longtime girlfriend, and the physical manifestations around that.  There is some discussion around the web that the idea and the book are sexist – portraying women as wedding hungry nutjobs and men as commitment phobic victims of a hunt.  And, sure, there is some of that in his book, but the spirit of his message is so nuanced and sweet, and his obvious love for his now wife, that I don’t think that’s the point.

I know there are women who are obsessed with weddings (spend 24 seconds on Pinterest) and I know there are men who are commitment averse (spend 24 seconds listening to me talk about my last two choices in boyfriend), but sometimes exaggerations and stereotypes are part of the story.  As he says at some point in his book after they become engaged, “I still didn’t believe in marriage, but I believe in her”.  And really, how much more can you want?