DVD Review: Sideways

At the end of 1999, most of my friends were raving about one movie, a sleeper hit that was a witty take on a high school election. Alexander Payne’s ‘Election’ just did not do it for me. I just could not break through its exterior so I did not get what the fuss was about. Then came ‘About Schmidt’, a tragic and ultimately depressing tale of a man passing his elderly life wondering bleakly “was that it ?”

So what was it about ‘Sideways’ that made me want to see it so much ? I am not sure of an answer to that question but I am glad I went to find out.

‘Sideways’ is a joy of a movie, an insightful and charming, depressing too, tale of two middle aged men coming to terms with their lives and how they perceive each other. There is a little of all of us in the protagonists, so how could we deny ourselves ?

Miles (played by what should have been an Oscar winning turn by Paul Giamatti) is a morose alcoholic teacher who aspires to be a writer. Immersing himself in his only passion – wine. After the break up of his marriage, two years previously, a bottle of wine has been his companion of choice, each with its own character. A poor substitute for actually facing the reality of living his life, bottle after bottle is consumed to numb his existence and keep the small flame of hope that he will get back together with his now ex-wife, Victoria.

Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is a square jawed one-time TV star who has passed by the peak of his career, now reduced to doing voice-overs for commercials. In one weeks time he will be a married man, going up the aisle to a wealthy American-Armenian bride, whose family want Jack to come into their lucrative property business. Jack sees this as a pit stop, always hoping that the phone will ring for that special acting role.

With his last week of singledom, Jack is taken away for a stag week by his best friend and best man Miles. These two seem to have nothing in common with the exception of being roommates all those years ago. That and they are both in denial of their lives and are in want of constant escape; Miles to his bottle, and Jack to some unknown bed.

Miles plans what he sees to be a ‘fun’, educating and refreshing time, a trip through the vineyards of California, with some tastings too and the odd round of golf. Jack on the other hand wants to get his leg over and takes on the mission of setting Miles up as he believes that will be the answer to all his depressive problems.

We are now off on this winery road movie with wine playing more than just a metaphor. After a not so quick stop at Miles mother’s home they take off into beautiful wine country. The lush photography by Phedon Papamicheal lights up the screen in its sun hazed glory and the cool jazz score by Payne regular Rolfe Kent hits the mark.

To Jack, one bottle of wine is much the same as another; as long as the end result is getting smashed he is happy. To Miles, endlessly pontificating on his reds and whites, they are as diverse as one could possibly imagine, but he has had more than his fair share of being smashed and doing drunken dialling to his and others constant embarrassment.

They hit the Santa Ynez Valley, a place of many memories for Miles of his Victoria days. On one stop, having a drink and some tasty wine to wash it down with, they meet Maya (Virginia Madsen), whom Miles knows from his previous visits. The incorrigible Jack tries to woo this waitress but she smiles haplessly at Miles instead.

In one of the vineyards they meet Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a bright, attractive single mum working as a pourer and Jack does what Jack does best; he acts. She swoons for his cheesy one-liners and they head off for trouble and a heated affair. Coincidently Stephanie knows Maya.

The two sets of couples contrast each other. Maya and Miles speak softly about their favourite vintages and about Miles’ attempt at writing his novel, of which he gives her his draft. Stephanie and Jack, are the steamier of the two. Going through his supply of condoms and speaking sweat nothings in her ear, he fills her with words of affection and promises of intent with her and her kid. This does not sit well with the guilt-ridden Miles, knowing his friend is deceiving this charming girl and the day of his wedding is getting much closer.

In one scene Miles describes why he like Pinot so much. His reply could be interpreted as speaking of himself as well as the grape variety when he says "... it's a hard grape to grow... it's thin-skinned, temperamental... Pinot needs constant care and attention....only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it...." to the admiring Maya. She counters by saying that “wine is alive”, music to Miles’ fermented ears indeed.

There are a few extras on this disc, some easily found and others not. There is an audio commentary from Giamatti and Church. Don’t expect anything of weight, as it’s just a fun rambling from them both. The deleted scenes are great; Payne has a typed introduction to each one stating its place within the context of the movie and then why it was taken out. It’s this insight into the editing process that is such a nice touch. The behind-the-scenes starts off well and then proceeds into nothing more than an extended trailer. The Inside Look is a little misleading. On previous Fox releases this shows some behind-the-scenes for an up and coming project, but here we have a trailer for Kingdom of Heaven only.

Now for the hidden gems; I have listed how to find one of the Easter eggs in the item description in the database, which is a stills gallery played with Kent’s toe tapping score. There are another two out there ! 'Project Searchlight' is a mickey take of Fox Searchlight, the Production Company, visiting the set filled with empty wine bottles, to find out where the budget is being spent. And then there is a hilarious batch of outtakes. Happy hunting !

This is wry and touching movie, full of human moments with the odd hilarious scene. It is very much a character piece, beautifully written (a deserved Oscar win for Payne and Jim Taylor for the screenplay), and the four mains are thoroughly charming and watchible for all their apparent faults. Oenophiles should love this. Movie lovers will love it.