Sideways

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh, Virginia Madsen
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A short time before his wedding, a man (Thomas Haden Church) takes a long planned trip with his best friend (Paul Giamatti) into wine country, where the two have a series of adventures, befriending two women (Sandra Oh, Virginia Madsen)

Review:

Tim: Sideways is a critically acclaimed comedy. I thought it was a good movie, but only rarely funny. It is a film that has several moments of charm that raise it up from being only a decent movie.

The performances of the cast are incredible. Paul Giamatti is surprisingly likeable in the film. He is the character we identify with most. Thomas Haden Church is humorous, although he acts with no regard to his previous relationship. He always teeters on losing control.

It is amazing that a movie about wine tasting isn't horrendously boring. Sideways manages to make wine come alive. The best moments of the film are when Giamatti tastes the wine, explaining the process to Church. The singly highlight of the film is the conversation between Giamatti and Virginia Madsen. Giamatti talks about his love of Pinot and Madsen discusses how she thinks about wine being alive. This is the most insightful and touching moment of the film.

The laughs are sadly, very few. The highlights in the comedy portion are when Giamatti refuses to drink Merlot, and the car into the tree scene. Two moments stand out in an entire film supposed to be a comedy.

I feel that this film is slightly overrated by critics. It does have its remarkable moments, but is no where near as good as people make it out to be.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
American Splendor, Storytelling, The Hot Spot, Under the Tuscan Sun, Ray, Finding Neverland