The chemistry between Skye and Astin is based entirely on grueling, non-stop referential dialogue, as if neither of them has forgotten a word of Kierkegaard, Tennyson, or Cobain.

It's talky, clumsy and a bit trivial, but the talk is rarely dull, and there's an integrity about its clumsiness: It's harder to be smooth when you have things you really want to say.

Dream for an Insomniac is really a self-conscious modern sitcom that with its San Francisco setting suggests a pale shadow of Armistead Maupin's Tales From the City.

Filmed in a mixture of black and white and colour, this has enough good lines to keep you smiling and the young cast members deliver attractive performances.