Can't Sleep? Take One of These...

Having trouble sleeping? Listen to someone reading a poem.

Ok, not quite - but that's the idea behind the world's longest movie, "The Cure for Insomnia." Created in 1987, it runs (depending on the source you read) anywhere from 85-87 hours, with Lee Groban reading his nearly 5,000 page poem of the same name, interspersed with heavy metal and X-rated video. Have I seen it? In a word, no. Even when I have trouble sleeping, I think I can manage just fine without staying up for 3 and a half days watching. Have you seen it? I'm curious if it lives up to the hype and if it's the psychedelic trip that it sounds to be. I don't even know if, in today's digitalized world, it still exists and can be viewed by anyone anymore.

I just thought this was funny. I mean, people have trouble staying awake when listening to a short poem, let alone a 5,000 pager. It's my impression that when most people even hear the word "poem" that it makes them feel cramped and like they are living this 3 and a half day diatribe.

Was it done for art? Shock value? Drugs? Not sure. This video from a few years ago is of Lee Groban himself (seemingly an upstanding kind of guy) explaining, in part, the project: