My rating: 8/10
Lemmon and Matthau. Randall and Klugman. To this list, now add Giamatti and Church.
Paul Giamatti's character Miles and Thomas Haden Church's character Jack are as unlike as can be, and yet somehow are good enough buddies to spend a week together in California's southern wine country before Jack's impending marriage to the daughter of a successful immigrant family. Jack is a stereotypical live-for-the-moment aging blond California surfer-type (an actor, by profession), who doesn't delay any gratification, whereas Miles (an unpublished author) personifies delayed gratification - in fact, there are serious doubts as to whether he will ever experience any gratification at all in his life, aside from being a wine snob (and how much fun is that, really?).
After a slow start to the storyline, including a diversionary trip to visit Miles' mother (which doesn't serve any real purpose in the film other than to demonstrate how desperate Miles is), Sideways gets rolling as the characters of Miles and Jack try to achieve the goal of most modern-day Americans: to be happy. Miles and Jack make very different choices, with Jack choosing the easy way and Miles, who is clinically depressed and borderline suicidal, choosing the hardest possible way in almost all situations. To the casual observer, Miles appears to be a complete loser, and yet, by the end of the film, when one sees just what Jack's choices have wrought and what his future may be like, one could very easily conclude that Miles may ultimately have the better, more satisfying life in the future. To its credit, the film ends before resolving this question, but as bad as life has been for Miles, there is indeed hope.
The leads give strong performances, and are well cast for their roles. Among the supporting roles, Sandra Oh's happy-go-lucky character of Stephanie is particularly memorable. As the film progresses and the groundwork has been laid, the comedic moments build until a truly funny scene played entirely for laughs, when Miles has to retrieve Jack's wallet from his latest one night stand. Most of the comedy, however, is more cerebral than slapstick, making Sideways an excellent choice for adults looking for more sophisticated fare than the latest Austin Powers movie. Sideways is a frank look at modern-day adult romance, friendship and life, and while the picture is not always a pretty one, there is plenty of food for thought.
Lemmon and Matthau. Randall and Klugman. To this list, now add Giamatti and Church.
Paul Giamatti's character Miles and Thomas Haden Church's character Jack are as unlike as can be, and yet somehow are good enough buddies to spend a week together in California's southern wine country before Jack's impending marriage to the daughter of a successful immigrant family. Jack is a stereotypical live-for-the-moment aging blond California surfer-type (an actor, by profession), who doesn't delay any gratification, whereas Miles (an unpublished author) personifies delayed gratification - in fact, there are serious doubts as to whether he will ever experience any gratification at all in his life, aside from being a wine snob (and how much fun is that, really?).
After a slow start to the storyline, including a diversionary trip to visit Miles' mother (which doesn't serve any real purpose in the film other than to demonstrate how desperate Miles is), Sideways gets rolling as the characters of Miles and Jack try to achieve the goal of most modern-day Americans: to be happy. Miles and Jack make very different choices, with Jack choosing the easy way and Miles, who is clinically depressed and borderline suicidal, choosing the hardest possible way in almost all situations. To the casual observer, Miles appears to be a complete loser, and yet, by the end of the film, when one sees just what Jack's choices have wrought and what his future may be like, one could very easily conclude that Miles may ultimately have the better, more satisfying life in the future. To its credit, the film ends before resolving this question, but as bad as life has been for Miles, there is indeed hope.
The leads give strong performances, and are well cast for their roles. Among the supporting roles, Sandra Oh's happy-go-lucky character of Stephanie is particularly memorable. As the film progresses and the groundwork has been laid, the comedic moments build until a truly funny scene played entirely for laughs, when Miles has to retrieve Jack's wallet from his latest one night stand. Most of the comedy, however, is more cerebral than slapstick, making Sideways an excellent choice for adults looking for more sophisticated fare than the latest Austin Powers movie. Sideways is a frank look at modern-day adult romance, friendship and life, and while the picture is not always a pretty one, there is plenty of food for thought.