Gavin and his crew intended to stay up as long as the competitors (granted they had full access to any sort of uppers and weren’t required to stay glued to a TV screen) and give insight to what was able to keep them (the contestants) going. This film was short and sweet, 10 grand and my name in a book, to me, is hardly worth the mental debilitation. It was, however, dope to get to see these people from all different walks of life, stay awake and almost find courage in the process of crippling their bodies to hold a title and bring home some dough. The soundtrack was tight. Gavin was hilarious. “Sleep deprivation occasionally gives you incredible clarity. Towards the end of the competition I was able to mathematically prove we don’t exist.” There were awesome cameos by Richard Simmons & the Naked Cowboy and lastly, the stuff the contestants said/did while “in battle” was just outlandish, including one hopeful who kept putting ice on his balls noting that there would be no way he could sleep if they were cold. The participants ranged from, a former winner on “Who wants to be a Millionaire”, U.S. competitive eating champion, a homely older woman who probably killed 10 movies a weekend, then just your average friendly Guinness World Record breakers, going in for another notch on their belt.
I can hardly sit through a 3 hour movie without wanting to scream, but if you’re curious as to what it’s like to stay awake for 5 days, watch 57 films and lose your mind, definitely go out and get this DVD. Check out the trailer and a music video for Jay Electronica’s “A Million In The Morning” inspired by the film.