''Dream for an Insomniac'' is a 1995 (released in 1996) romantic

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Tiffanie DeBartolo Tiffanie DeBartolo (born November 27, 1970) is an American novelist, filmmaker, co-founder of the independent record label Bright Antenna, and co-founder of The ShineMaker Foundation. Tiffanie has written three novels: ''God-Shaped Hole,'' '' ...

and starring Ione Skye,

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

Mackenzie Astin Mackenzie Alexander Astin (born May 12, 1973) is an American actor. Early and personal life Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His brother is actor Sean Astin. He at ...

and

Michael Landes Michael Christopher Landes (born September 18, 1972) is an American actor of television and film. Personal life Michael Christopher Landes was born to Patricia and Bernard Landes on September 18, 1972 in The Bronx, New York. Landes studied pe ...

Plot synopsis

Frankie ( Ione Skye) works at her uncle Leo's Cafe Blue Eyes in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(named in honor of family friend

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

), and is hoping to meet her ideal lover, ideally one with blue eyes like Sinatra, while going to auditions with her friend Allison (

). Frankie suffers from

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

, and has not slept through the night since childhood, when her parents were killed in a car accident. She spends most of her time at night reading. Writer David Shrader (Mackenzie Astin), takes a job at the cafe, and Frankie falls in love with him, while he attempts to cure her insomnia, she reads his writings, and the two take turns reciting philosophical quotes and guessing their source. The film is shot in black and white until Frankie sees David, when the film switches to color and David's eyes are revealed as blue. David breaks Frankie's heart when she finds out that he is engaged to a lawyer, Molly (Leslie Stevens), but he eventually chooses Frankie over his fiancé, and visits her in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she has joined Allison, who is exploring an acting career. The film ends with Frankie falling asleep in David's arms. A subplot has Rob (

), the gay son of Leo (

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

), trying to convince his father he is straight, with the help of Allison "acting" as his girlfriend. After Allison and Frankie leave, Rob comes out of the closet to his father, who in fact had known and accepted that Rob was gay for many years.

Cast

* Ione Skye as Frankie *

as Allison *

as David Shrader *

as Rob *

as Uncle Leo * Sean Blackman as Juice * Michael Sterk as B.J. * Leslie Stevens as Molly Monday *

Robert Kelker-Kelly Robert Kelker-Kelly (born April 18, 1964) is a former United States, American soap opera actor and current professional aircraft pilot, best known for playing Bo Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1992 to 1995. He is also kn ...

as Trent *

David Rainey David "Puck" Rainey (born 1968) is an American reality television personality who gained fame as a cast member on '' The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994. A bicycle messenger during the show's shooting, he became notorious as the second ''Rea ...

as Delivery Man

Reception

The film earned only $26,000 domestically.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave it a cumulative rating of 50%. Jennifer Aniston's performance was praised by critics. Jeffrey M. Anderson said, "Aniston is the breeze in this movie. I was amazed that she of all people was the only one who seemed natural. She seemed to be having a good time, and she seemed in the moment". Barbara Shulgasser found her "terribly funny". Carlo Cavagna added that "Jennifer Aniston, who plays Allison, Frankie's best friend, is the most watchable person in this movie. Although she doesn't deviate from the well-established Jennifer Aniston persona, she at least appears to be having fun—teasing Frankie and experimenting with funny accents."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0116141
Mick Lasalle's review for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''
1998 romantic comedy films 1998 LGBT-related films 1998 films 1996 films American LGBT-related films Gay-related films Insomnia in film 1996 comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films