Overall Rating
  Awesome: 65.37%
Worth A Look: 18.54%
Average: 7.32%
Pretty Bad: 3.9%
Total Crap: 4.88%
17 reviews, 103 user ratings
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| Sideways (2004) |
by Erik Childress
"The Best Wine Is Found In Church (And Giamatti)"
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SCREENED AT THE 2004 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: If I went on-and-on equating the latest work from Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor to a bottle of wine and all the adjectives that come with aging gracefully or terms like bold and full, you could easily accuse me of finding the most simplistic comparison of all time. The movie is, above all things, about a trip through the wine country with one of those connoisseurs who often speaks about how he’s going to drink than actually drinking. That’s precisely one of the beauties about Sideways, which talks a good game while always meaning something greater and follows through on the anticipation of the next sip. You will never crave a glass of wine as much in your life.Miles (Paul Giamatti) is caught in the worst cross-section of his life. Behind him is a painful divorce and in front is nothing more than the low anticipation of his novel being published. His best bud, Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is a formerly well-known actor now stuck in commercial spots, yet is still able to maintain an upbeat attitude thanks to living for the moment no matter how irresponsible. His bachelor days are coming to an end though, engaged to a wealthy and beautiful woman.
Miles’ plan is to give Jack an extended bachelor party. A whole week dedicated to nothing but travel, golf and wine in California. Jack plans to sneak in one final fling during the sendoff and would like nothing more than to get Miles’ wick wet as well. The waitress at his favorite restaurant, Maya (a delightful Virginia Madsen in a great comeback role) seems like an ideal candidate. They both share a critical passion of wine as well as...well...sometimes that’s all you need. Maya’s good friend, Stephanie (Sandra Oh) is a wine pourer and a woman, making that more than enough for Jack.
Road trips, miscommunicated details and delayed romance are the markings of sitcom territory and bad romantic comedies. Payne & Taylor are the filmmaking team that doesn’t disprove the rule so much as working without the knowledge of the rule. They must find the novels they choose to adapt (Election, About Schmidt) on some magical bookshelf with a voice calling out to only them. Not to denigrate the original book by Rex Pickett, but the most gleeful of texts can be destroyed by screenwriters trying to write a trailer as opposed to a movie. These guys find the steak, add the sauce and savor every last bit. There we go with the tasting metaphors again.
Therein lies one of the great pleasures of Sideways, discovering the true meaning of every line-reading just a few seconds before (and after) the characters do. When Miles delivers a trademark speech on the wonders of a particular bottle, we’re enchanted along with Maya in knowing that the actual trademark is Miles himself. Even the locations and cinematography by Phedon Papamichael find the interior of Miles’ soul; his heartbreak in the shaded motel room and the joyful splendor of the grape fields, his one true love in place as another is coming into age.
There’s something glorious to watching comedy unfold naturally. Not in the standard setup-punch line-reaction, but in genuine human behavior. The people of Merlot may not delight in Miles’ eccentricities, but Giamatti seems incapable of disappointing audiences. He may be the sidekick more often than not, but when given roles to shine like in Private Parts, Duets and last year’s most noted sad-sack, Harvey Pekar in American Splendor, Giamatti is more than just your favorite middle-class Uncle. There’s honesty in his pain and, more importantly, in his humor.
Matching him with Thomas Haden Church (a veteran of TV sitcoms like Wings) couldn’t have been more inspired. There’s a flawlessness to Church’s delivery as Jack, who knows he’s certainly not Miles’ intellectual equal, but then never sees things in terms of intellect. Jack is always trying to boost Miles ego and when that fails he boosts others opinion of him, completely oblivious to the problems big white lies can tell. If what he says can help now, he’ll say it.Payne & Taylor allow everything to build though, somehow managing to save two of the biggest laughs for the last 20 minutes. The film is generously peppered with great laughs, but it is more than just a comedy or a “guy” movie. This duo loves their characters and all their flawed sensibilities. We’re endeared to them and somehow understand their behavior even as we condemn their choices. Like their last collaboration, About Schmidt, Sideways finds the absolute perfect note to end on, stripping away all the double-talk and simply finding a way to just open up and enjoy every ounce of flavor that life offers.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10451&reviewer=198
originally posted: 09/28/04 02:03:39
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2004 Chicago Film Festival. For more in the 2004 Chicago Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2004 Starz Denver Film Festival. For more in the 2004 Starz Denver Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2004 Toronto Film Festival. For more in the 2004 Toronto Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2004 New York Film Festival. For more in the 2004 New York Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
22-Oct-2004 (R)
DVD: 05-Apr-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
26-Jan-2005
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