Sideways

Sideways is a very, very nice little film that doesn’t pretend to be artsy and, despite all of its sophistication, it doesn’t shy away from vulgar and dry humour. You’ll get to know the pair of lead characters on such a personal level that they’ll become your friends. And you’ll experience so many comical and sad real-life moments with them that you’ll leave the cinema more satisfied than after any other film far and wide. I was pleasantly surprised by the level of humor, which elicited belly laughs in the last stage (the wallet). It’s regrettable that the Academy ignored Paul Giamatti’s brilliant performance. I’m giving Sideways a similarly strong four stars as in the case of And Your Mother Too. (10/02/2005)

This film is like wine, but not you drink it out of a carton like a bum in front of the supermarket, but like, for example, Richebourg vintage ´61 in a nice place, with light notes of jazz in the background and an attractive lady across the table. The label "comedy" is misleading, this is not a film that would elicit volleys of laughter from start to finish, but very pleasantly flowing entertainment with polished dialogue and wonderful actors. Just my cup of tea. The Oscar for screenplay is very well deserved, and as for Giamatti, it's called a 'role of a lifetime'. (09/01/2008)

As a marketing tool, the Oscar Award is ideal, but as the ultimate measure of film quality, it is definitely not. Sideways had the potential to outshine precisely executed but overly ambitious projects like The Aviator and the award-winning Million Dollar Baby. This was the film that had the power to make that universally accepted standard of quality fall into its hands. But it was too small, fundamentally too ordinary, and at first glance, it went, quite fittingly to its name, too sideways. The screenwriting duo of Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor took the most stereotypical route to the theme of a bachelor party. The move, which is not at all abnormal in a time when there is nothing else to do but revamp the old and give it a stamp of novelty and originality, is slightly risky from Payne and Taylor, but it paid off many times over. At least those two won an Oscar for it. Perhaps it was the desire of the screenwriters to cram something new, unconventional, and especially atypical into the film, or a deliberately aimed symbol in which the tragicomic fate of the film's characters could be reflected. Wine, for an American, is probably as natural a drink as Kentucky whiskey is for a Frenchman. And yet, in the film, wine tasting seems perfectly natural, as if it were an everyday affair for every American. It smells pleasant, a little sour to taste, then comes the sharp taste of alcohol, and when you drink too much, it can give you a headache. "In vino veritas" and Sideways is like the wine. The long search for love, and yet it's not a romance, plenty of humorous situations, and yet it's not a comedy. Besides good ideas, Sideways also respectfully borrows from every genre a certain amount of perspective, from which you can see just enough for a happy-looking ending, depending on who you ask, it must be added. Moreover, "Payne the director" is a completely different person than "Payne the writer." He carefully avoids all the pitfalls of the genres from which he respectfully borrowed and doesn't burden the viewer with conversational boredom or indulge in jumping from one gag to another, and heaven forbid, playing on a romantic string. Payne sticks to everything in moderation, but not in an awkward way. Also, all established Hollywood stars should respectfully kneel in front of the performances delivered by the central quartet in this film. And for Thomas Haden Church to lose in an Oscar race to a standard-issue Morgan Freeman? He really didn't deserve that. Sideways not winning (I deliberately don't want to use the word "losing") the Oscar may not be the harshest crime of the Academy, but it will definitely take me a while to accept it. (21/06/2005)

Middle age crisis... and wine. A relaxed atmosphere... and wine. A week in the life of two former dormmates, one of whom is a far-from-successful writer, currently English teacher and wreck, and the other is a low-quality actor who appears in soaps and commercials... and wine. Excellent actors... and wine. A marvelously relaxed time surrounded by vineyards... and wine. A brilliant screenplay, seemingly about nothing, while in fact being about everything... and wine. An action finale in true buddy movie style? Not even in your dreams - instead we get a double portion of laid-back humor and... and wine. Sideways is an extremely, and I mean extremely, pleasant indie movie that will stay with you for a long while after. By the way, did I mention that this is also about grapes... and wine? (21/06/2007)

Sideburns certainly do not belong to those movies that captivate the viewer at first sight, and appeal to all movie fans indiscriminately. It is such an inconspicuous, but nice conversation, an ordinary movie about average people experiencing a midlife crisis. No one can expect a flurry of cult lines or a flood of crazy gags. It is a film about the search for love and friendship, which is based on an intelligent screenplay and the character acting of quality actors. Among the cast, Virginia Madsen in the role of waitress May stands out. Overall impression: 75%. (27/05/2007)

A peculiar mix of life's moments that, to a greater or lesser extent, will be encountered by the vast majority of us. Giamatti in top form and probably in the best role of his career, Haden Church for a change in his only proper (big) role, if we don't count the bland villain from the big-budget Spiderman. Payne mixes just the right amount of comedy, a moderate amount of fucks, and the perfect amount of wine that will leave the viewer tipsy but not so drunk that they won't like it anymore. In places, the overlong running time bothers just a little, and the delivery of some of the actors, with the exception of Giamatti, isn’t quite perfect. Between 3 and 4 stars. A pretty successful tasting. (28/09/2022)

The soundtrack, composed for Sideways by one of my favorite contemporary composers, Rolfe Kent, has been one I've loved for years, know by heart and can't get enough of. This wonderful jazz-scented music is playful, melancholic, sensitive, funny... Essentially, it uses almost all existing moods and always feels suitable. Well, after today, it's clear that the film is in terms of having the same mood. A pleasantly truthful spectacle, definitely not moralizing, definitely not explosively funny and, despite the two-hour runtime, it’s also not too long. A sunny film, in which it does rain a few times, but what can you do? When it rains, you should wait for the sun to shine again, right? Superbly acted, filmed and, of course, also scored. However, I can't help it, I liked A Good Year better. (19/10/2013)

Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Paul Giamatti. This is simply a concert trio that has put on an incredibly casual acting performance, with two of them (Madsen and Church) even being able to reach for an Oscar, but only ended up with a nomination. I must admit, I'm quite surprised that Giamatti wasn't nominated as well, but maybe it would have been too much, three nominations for acting in one film. However, that doesn't change the fact that you want to watch the movie for the characters that the actors play. Or rather, who the actors are. Miles and Jack are friends, even though they are very different. Jack is getting married and goes on a trip with Miles for a week, where they should have a good time. Jack wants to make it big and have a good time with a woman. He's getting married, but who cares, he still has doubts, so he wants to make sure who he really loves. Miles is completely different from Jack. He's more introverted, a wine expert trying to make it as a writer, but it's not working out for him. He's recovering from his divorce two years ago and still can't get it together. Plus, he has to steal money from his old mother just to have some. They go on a wine trip together, and Jack teaches him how to appreciate wine. I have to say, even though the movie isn't focused on wine like "Bobule," you learn quite a lot about wine here. You can get to know each other over wine, so Jack meets Stephanie and goes to dinner with her, Miles, and Maya, who is clearly into Miles. Jack realizes who he actually loves, and Miles realizes that he still has a lot unresolved. "Sideways" is based on dialogues and human fates. Alexander Payne once again proves how great of a screenwriter he is, and the two Oscars for the screenplays (one for "Sideways" and another for "The Descendants") are completely justified. Beautiful little stories about people who aren't stars at first sight, but their fates are more interesting than those of most celebrities. It's a beautiful film that simply captivated me. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/11/arbitrage-interview-male-deti-neznamy.html (02/03/2013)

From one perspective, a sad and serious film. From the other, sort of a bittersweet tale of the "late summer" of life, friendship, love, and most of all wine. Sideways is a sensitive slice of life, sensitively directed and acted. The main duo complement and contrast each other beautifully. (19/05/2009)