Sideways - Widescreen Edition DVD
Award-winning comedy about wine country is a bit vinous*.
According to a blurb on the cover, Sideways is the “best comedy of the year” for 2004. If that’s true, it’s a really sad statement about comedies that year. It has a few funny moments, but a laugh riot it is not.
The film stars Paul Giamatti as would-be novelist Miles, who’s taking his college buddy-turned-actor, Jack (Thomas Haden Church), on a week-long bachelor fling through California wine country. Miles is a wine connoisseur, so he’s envisioning male bonding over sample glasses at various wineries, with a round or two of golf to break up the tastings. Jack has other plans; he wants to sow his wild oats before tying the knot. He wants to make sure Miles – who’s still recovering from his divorce two years earlier – has a good time, too.
Their first night, Jack lays eyes on an attractive waitress (Virginia Madsen) at a restaurant Miles has visited many times before. He recognizes that Maya is interested in Miles, but Miles doesn’t see it. The next day, Jack meets flirty pour girl Stephanie (Sandra Oh) at a vineyard, and he soon sets up a double date, skillfully avoiding any mention of his upcoming nuptials.
From that point on, Jack’s in party mode, and Miles reluctantly goes along. Eventually he relaxes and begins to pursue things with Maya. Then the truth comes about the wedding.
Sideways is very much a slice-of-life buddy film. The humor comes mostly from Jack’s laid-back attitude and Miles’s angst, both about the lies Jack keeps spreading and the general misery of his life.
The movie picked up a bunch of awards and was nominated for a handful of Oscars, and I’m sure plenty of people will enjoy it. It’s well-enough acted, and the jazz music and wine country scenery are nice. I found the sound on the DVD very uneven – I had to turn my audio way up to understand the dialogue, while some of the music was over-powering. Writer-Director Alexander Payne throws in a couple of multi-screen montages that don’t seem to serve any real purpose except to be artsy. The pacing is very slow.
The DVD includes the trailer, several deleted scenes along with text introductions about why those scenes were cut. I’m very glad they left out the animal cruelty; it’s annoying how often movies use that kind of stuff for comedy these days. Other extras include a commentary by Giamatti and Church and a short behind-the-scenes featurette.
Sideways wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen, by far, but it’s not something I’d ever care to see again.
*Vinous – a wine term, meaning while nothing is basically wrong with the wine, it has no impact on the taster. Implies good "character," but dull experience.
Written by: Auriette Lindsey
Reviewers Rating: 5
Reader's Rating: 9.00
Reader's Votes: 3
Added: 30-Jul-2007
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