Sideways (R)
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A Review By M. Chad Durham
Maybe there’s something beautiful about middle-aged angst for there’s so much of it in Alexander Payne’s story of wine, women, and song—Sideways; a male variation on standard chick-flick flair. But then again, maybe there isn’t; maybe mental and emotional baggage accompanied by a complete disregard for decency while selfishly looking out only for one’s self is, simply put, pathetic. If the latter is true, then what could be so fascinating about four characters bumbling aimlessly through life without purpose, meaning, or direction?
Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is a has-been. His acting career never amounted to much except voice-overs, commercials, and a brief stint on a daytime soap. He’s engaged to the lovely Christine to whom he will say, “I do” in just one short week. His best friend Miles (Paul Giamatti), a struggling writer as well as a high school English teacher and definitive wine snob, decides to send him off with a weeklong escapade through California’s wine country. The wine and the golf motivate Miles but Jack’s only interested in the booze and the broads. In fact, Miles is as obsessed with vino as Jack is with women. Where one’s obsession begins the other’s insecurities begin. They are such complete opposites it’s difficult to understand exactly why they are still friends. About the only thing they have in common is the fact that they once shared a room together in college. Nonetheless, they seem intent on having one last hoorah together before Jack ties the knot.
Along the way they meet the cautious Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress at Miles’ favorite restaurant. She’s certainly interested in Miles but he’s still reeling from a divorce and seems so unsure of himself around her. Jack immediately starts pushing his pal in her direction. The next day they stumble on to Stephanie (Sandra Oh) at a wine tasting. She’s the kind of gal that’s up for anything—especially a tryst with Jack—and she just happens to be friends with Maya.
The four primary characters lives are so filled with debauchery they leave nary a deadly sin uncommitted. Drunkenness may not crack the top-seven but there’s plenty of that, too, along with some serious pill popping and petty thievery. And yet, in spite of it all, it just might be their complete disregard for morality that makes them so intriguing. Watching them stumble through situation after situation complicated by their own stupidity lends credibility to the film. Each actor delivers a believable, heartfelt, noteworthy performance. First-rate acting is nothing new for Giamatti. He’s made quite a living at it for the past several years, but Church and Madsen are particularly surprising in their supporting roles. Sandra Oh also continues to demonstrate her chops for comedy.
The writers (Payne, along with Jim Taylor, based on Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name) deliver an unadulterated look at the human condition that reflects a keen understanding of the fundamentally flawed nature of people. The dialogue is first-rate and the humor racy, bawdy, crass, and irreverent delivering far more laughs than anticipated, many accompanied by a profound sense of guilt because some things just shouldn’t be that funny. Sideways is a fairly simple movie about friendship run amok that will surely strike a nerve, one way or another; it will hit too close to home for some, others won’t get at all, and still many more will find it blatantly offensive. On the other hand, it isn’t difficult to see why this flick is garnering so much buzz this award season. Sideways earns a HOT DATE rating with an * to warn off more sensitive viewers.
A Review By M. Chad Durham
Maybe there’s something beautiful about middle-aged angst for there’s so much of it in Alexander Payne’s story of wine, women, and song—Sideways; a male variation on standard chick-flick flair. But then again, maybe there isn’t; maybe mental and emotional baggage accompanied by a complete disregard for decency while selfishly looking out only for one’s self is, simply put, pathetic. If the latter is true, then what could be so fascinating about four characters bumbling aimlessly through life without purpose, meaning, or direction?
Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is a has-been. His acting career never amounted to much except voice-overs, commercials, and a brief stint on a daytime soap. He’s engaged to the lovely Christine to whom he will say, “I do” in just one short week. His best friend Miles (Paul Giamatti), a struggling writer as well as a high school English teacher and definitive wine snob, decides to send him off with a weeklong escapade through California’s wine country. The wine and the golf motivate Miles but Jack’s only interested in the booze and the broads. In fact, Miles is as obsessed with vino as Jack is with women. Where one’s obsession begins the other’s insecurities begin. They are such complete opposites it’s difficult to understand exactly why they are still friends. About the only thing they have in common is the fact that they once shared a room together in college. Nonetheless, they seem intent on having one last hoorah together before Jack ties the knot.
Along the way they meet the cautious Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress at Miles’ favorite restaurant. She’s certainly interested in Miles but he’s still reeling from a divorce and seems so unsure of himself around her. Jack immediately starts pushing his pal in her direction. The next day they stumble on to Stephanie (Sandra Oh) at a wine tasting. She’s the kind of gal that’s up for anything—especially a tryst with Jack—and she just happens to be friends with Maya.
The four primary characters lives are so filled with debauchery they leave nary a deadly sin uncommitted. Drunkenness may not crack the top-seven but there’s plenty of that, too, along with some serious pill popping and petty thievery. And yet, in spite of it all, it just might be their complete disregard for morality that makes them so intriguing. Watching them stumble through situation after situation complicated by their own stupidity lends credibility to the film. Each actor delivers a believable, heartfelt, noteworthy performance. First-rate acting is nothing new for Giamatti. He’s made quite a living at it for the past several years, but Church and Madsen are particularly surprising in their supporting roles. Sandra Oh also continues to demonstrate her chops for comedy.
The writers (Payne, along with Jim Taylor, based on Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name) deliver an unadulterated look at the human condition that reflects a keen understanding of the fundamentally flawed nature of people. The dialogue is first-rate and the humor racy, bawdy, crass, and irreverent delivering far more laughs than anticipated, many accompanied by a profound sense of guilt because some things just shouldn’t be that funny. Sideways is a fairly simple movie about friendship run amok that will surely strike a nerve, one way or another; it will hit too close to home for some, others won’t get at all, and still many more will find it blatantly offensive. On the other hand, it isn’t difficult to see why this flick is garnering so much buzz this award season. Sideways earns a HOT DATE rating with an * to warn off more sensitive viewers.
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