Posted: 11/28/2004

Sideways

(2004)

by Hank Yuloff

As dry as a fine Manzanilla Sherry, Sideways is a comedy that is attractive to the palate of only the lovers of the most unique black comedies.

Why the wine metaphor? Because by the time you are done with this movie, you will have witnessed enough drinking to make Foster Brooks come back to life and give you a breathalyzer test.

Miles Faymond, a failed writer who teaches junior high school English takes his best friend, former “hot,” currently “voiceover” actor Jack on a week-long drive up to the Wine Country in California. There they explore the nature of their failures and question their relationships. Jack, about to get married, has an affair and wonders whether he should call it off. Miles, recently divorced, questions whether or not he made the right choice.

If you are about to get married or are “between” relationships or are in a shaky situation or have less than a year in AA, you should probably avoid this one for awhile. I was led to believe that it was a laugh-out-loud funny kind of a movie, but though there were some really funny lines and situations, your sides will come out pretty unscathed.

Alexander Payne, who wrote and directed Sideways (he also did About Schmidt and Election) did a great job making us feel for Miles, but Paul Giamatti saved any weak points and held my interest in the movie from beginning to the end. Giamatti, who starred in last year’s American Splendor, has created quite a formidable body of work over the last decade and is starting to be recognized as the great actor he is.

There is a great supporting cast. Virginia Madsen (Michael Madsen’s sis), who lately has starred in a lot of independent productions like Artworks, American Gun and Tempted, plays Maya, the waitress/Grad Student that Miles is attracted to. Jake is played effectively by Thomas Haden Church (Wings, Ned and Stacy, Rolling Kansas). He is just shallow enough to be real without being a cardboard character. His shallowness gives his love-interest Sandra Oh (Arli$$, Under the Tuscan Sun), one of the funniest scenes in the movie when she confronts him about his upcoming nuptials. I noticed that even minor characters are given enough play to show some depth. By way of example is a bartender who is written so well, that even he becomes part of the story….there are no throwaways.

So, as you take Sideways in your mouth, swish it around and, just as you are about to spit it into the tasting bucket in order to pronounce your thoughts on the vintage, remember that some movies, like wines, take a bit of time to ripen and this one will, like a good grape, will grow on you as you watch.

Hank Yuloff is an expert on all things grape… like Welch’s and Thunderbird.

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