Too Much Sleep

A lost classic of 90s deadpan comedy

Jack is stuck in neutral. He lives with is mom in suburban New Jersey, works as a security guard, and can barely get out of bed in the morning. All that changes when he sees a cute girl on the bus – and then realizes seconds later that his gun is missing. Desperate to find it, he enlists the help of a fast-talking middle-aged maybe-gangster named Eddie, who sends Jack on an epic quest to explore the darkest, strangest corners of American suburbia. Will Jack ever find his gun? Or better yet, will he find that cute girl from the bus?

Critically acclaimed, clinically unlucky

Hailed as "a treasure" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times), "a gem" (Amy Taubin, Village Voice) and "wickedly smart" (Steve Rosen, Denver Post), Too Much Sleep was nearly lost forever when its original distributor closed weeks into its original theatrical run.

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Virtually unseen for 23 years, the film is now presented in HD for the first time, featuring a new 4K scan from its original camera negative. It's time to revisit the ennui of the 90s.

Don't take our word for it...

"Cherish it as a treasure! Populated by strange and wonderful people as eccentric as anyone in a DeNiro crime movie or an Australian comedy."

       -Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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"An eye-opening comedy. It marks Maquiling as an original voice."

       -Andrew Johnston, US Weekly

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"Maquiling has built and sustained a mood of lovely comic aplomb. Like one of its hero's daydreams, the film leaves a serene glow."

       -Ty Burr, Entertainment Weekly

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"An unusual and intriguing tone somewhere between sharp, deadpan comedy and a soft, dreamy surrealism. It marks Maquiling as a young filmmaker to watch."

       -Dave Kehr, The New York Times

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"A remarkably assured debut feature... 'Too Much Sleep' is a gem!"

       -Amy Taubin, Village Voice

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"A shaggy-dog story full of hilarious and outrageous twists. You may be surprised by how many times you find yourself laughing out loud."

       -Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

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"A likably offbeat, intelligent American indie about finding yourself in a deranged modern suburb. Mixing the plot structure of 'The Bicycle Thief' with some of the nightmarish comic mood of 'After Hours' and the daffy buoyancy of 'Bottle Rocket.'"

       -Michael Wilmington, The Chicago Tribune

Why We Love It

Our first release!

Too Much Sleep is a film that means an awful lot to me, personally. Back in the spring of 2001, when I was living in New York City for film school, my parents and sister drove in from Detroit to visit me. While in town, we agreed that we should all see a movie – one of the interesting little indie films that you could never see in Detroit, but were plentiful in NYC. After checking our local listings, we settled on this one.

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You have to understand that we are a family that values its dark, deadpan humor. Seinfeld was (and still is) quoted as if a second language. So, when I read Roger Ebert's review, describing it as "rich and droll," filled with a bunch of bizarre and bizarrely entertaining characters, it seemed like it was for us.

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And boy, was it. Despite not really being a laugh-out-loud movie, we were DYING. My dad has a habit of wheezing for air when a comedy really hits, and by the end of the film's 82-minute running time, he was wheezing so hard that I think other theater patrons were staring. Delighted, I waited for a DVD release.

But there never was one. Little did I know, the film's original distributor went bust merely weeks after we saw it. A few questionable burn-on-demand discs popped up over the years, but never an actual, well-made release.

Decades went by, but I never forgot Too Much Sleep. It was such an unexpected, joyous family memory. When I decided to start Whole Grain Pictures, this was one of the first films I had in mind that I should look into.

You can imagine director David Maquiling's surprise when my email showed up. He's now a film professor at USC and UCLA, two of the world's top film schools (way better, and WAY more expensive, than my alma mater, frankly). Too Much Sleep was a film that he had worked on for a huge chunk of his 20s (he shot it 6 years before its release, back in 1995), and the fate that befell the film was a bitter memory.

David has been an incredible partner. By some luck, we found the original camera negative, which we had presumed was lost when the original film lab closed. We did a new 4K scan and color grade, stopping for a thorough dust and scratch removal along the way. With the help of modern tools, Too Much Sleep now looks even better than it did during its theatrical release all those years ago.

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We can't wait for you to see it. I think it's even more relevant today than it was back in 2001.

    -Justin Sevakis