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Sideways
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Paul Giamatti,
Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
Fox Searchlight |
| Web Site: |
foxsearchlight.com/sideways |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Leave them at
home. |
| Date Movie: |
Bring them along. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
There is
gratuitous sex and even a shot for the dudettes. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
A nose gets
broken. |
| Action: |
Not really. |
| Laughs: |
Tons. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
The wallet scene. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Miles asks Jack
"Are you chewing gum?" and Miles tells Jack "I am not drinking
any fucking merlot!" |
| Directed By: |
Alexander Payne |
| Produced By: |
Michael London |
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Sideways
A Movie Review |
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The easiest way I can start this review is to say that
if you liked the movies "About Schmidt" or
"Election," and could get
that style of humor, you will probably love "Sideways." If you found
those films to artsy for your comedic style, you might laugh a few
times, but probably won’t be nearly as entertained. Me, I loved this
movie."Sideways" gives us Miles and Jack, played by Paul Giamatti
and Thomas Haden Church respectively. They are old college buddies,
and Jack is about to be married. Miles is a failing writer who also
teaches 8th graders to pay the bills. Jack, on the other
hand, is an old soap opera actor who does a lot of voice work and is
marrying into money. Miles decides to take Jack on one last weeklong
fling before his wedding, and well, Jack thinks a drive to California
wine country for a little golf and some wine tasting is the way to go.
Miles is a wine aficionado with a remarkable pallet, while Jack, well,
isn’t. Miles tries to teach Jack a thing or two about wine tasting,
while Jack just wants to hit on chicks. Yes, that is the underlying
theme, that Jack really is just looking for a couple of last flings
before he has to get married, while Miles is divorced a couple of
years and not really smooth with the ladies anymore.
As it turns out, Miles likes a waitress named Maya (Virginia
Madsen) at one of the restaurants, who Miles thinks is still married,
and Jack finds his match for the week in the likes of Stephanie
(Sandra Oh). As it turns out, Stephanie is a good friend of Maya’s,
who we find is recently divorced, and Jack uses this to get Miles out
of the way, working to hook him and Maya up. And hilarity ensues.
Look, I know the synopsis I just gave doesn’t scream hilarious
comedy, but it is the contrast of characters between Jack and Miles
that really makes this movie work. Jack is the womanizer, while Miles
is unsure of himself, still in love with his ex-wife. This leads to
many a confrontation, many a keeping of secrets, and many laughs.
"Sideways" is more of an artsy comedy than a "Dumb & Dumber"
comedy, but it works on many levels, mostly because of the fantastic
acting of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. Maya and Stephanie
don’t add to many of the laughs, but their roles are just as important
to keep the story from being flat.
This is a smartly written comedy, for the adults, with lots of
adult humor, and like I said at the beginning, if you found humor in
"Election" or "About Schmidt," you will probably love this film. If
you’re looking for "There’s Something About Mary" humor, this one
isn’t it. For me, it’s 5 stars out of 5. There were a few sections
that dragged just a tad, but for the wallet scene alone, that put the
movie over the top.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |
