Sideways – 2004
This was a charming and endearing movie. It is listed as a comedy/drama, and with good reason. There were a few laugh-out lout moments, but it also had plenty of deep and poignant drama. It had heart and emotion. It had realistic characters with both perfections and flaws. It had the perfect cast of actors, some really incredible performances, and a well-crafted story. Much of the film had a depressing air, but we were saved by the funny moments and a feel-good ending.
First off, I can’t praise Paul Giamatti’s performance enough. There was subtlety, nuance, gravitas, passion, intensity, and an extreme realism that few actors have. He was wonderful. It was so easy to see myself in him that I found him absolutely captivating. He never overacted. He created a character that was depressing and melancholy, and yet believable because of those weaknesses. Giamatti is just a phenomenal actor.
The movie had four main leads, though to me Giamatti’s character, Miles Raymond, seemed to be the clear protagonist. He has been divorced for two years, and lives his life in deep depression. He is an eighth-grade English teacher who is also an aspiring novelist with dreams of being published. Playing opposite him is his best friend, Jack Cole, played by Thomas Hayden Church. Jack is a self-centered actor whose career, which was never very big to begin with, is in decline. He is marrying into money, and as a wedding gift, Miles takes him on a trip through the Santa Ynez Valley to share with him one of his own passions… wine.
The problem is that Jack is an uncouth, uncultured, uneducated man who also happens to be a sex addict. For Miles, the week-long trip is supposed to be filled with exquisite wine tastings and golf, but Jack treats the holiday as his last hurrah before getting married. He expects to party, to get laid, and to get drunk. The comedy comes when the two vastly differing worlds collide. But despite the arguing, the shouting, and the drinking, it is clear that the two men are true friends. Jack tries to indulge Miles in his sedate and intellectual passion, and Miles grudgingly goes along with Jack’s wild and reckless behavior.
Along the way, they meet two women. The first is Maya Randall, played by Virginia Madsen. The other is her friend Stephanie, played by Sandra Oh. Maya has known Miles for a while and carries a torch for him. But when Stephanie and Jack meet, sparks fly and the sexcapades begin. Jack’s baser self wins out and he abandons Miles to spend time having sex with Stephanie. Miles is left depressed and lonely. But when Jack and Stephanie do return, Miles is given the opportunity to spend time with Maya, allowing him to develop feelings for her, while at the same time, forcing him to finally begin letting go of his emotional attachment to his ex-wife.
Maya is so perfect for Miles. She is obviously attracted to him, and she shares his passion for wine. She is also his intellectual equal, giving him what Jack cannot. Unfortunately, Jack forces Miles to keep his impending marriage a secret from the ladies, and you can imagine the drama that comes from that lie. In the end, Miles ends up completely alone and more depressed than ever. But Maya, having read a copy of Miles’ novel that he had given her, calls him and invites him to drive back to the Santa Ynez Valley to reconcile with her. The movie ends with him knocking on her door, implying that the two people who should obviously be together, will be.
Sounds like some pretty heavy drama, right? It was. But there were also some pretty darn funny moments as well. The scene where Jack asks Miles to retrieve his wallet, which contained the wedding rings for his up-coming marriage, from the waitress who he’d been banging the night before, was comedy gold. Jack had been having sex with the waitress when her husband had walked in on them and drove him out, naked, into the streets. Apparently this was a planned scenario that the waitress and her husband liked to play out for kicks. Miles sneaks into the waitress’s house to get the wallet and finds the woman and her burly husband having very rough and very vocal sex. Without any discrete way to get the wallet, he goes for the direct approach. He walks right in on them, grabs the wallet, and runs. The buck naked husband chases him out into the street, threatening to get him. I was laughing out loud.
Madsen, Church, and Oh all played their parts well, though I felt that Giamatti outshined them all. I have to mention Church, though I do so grudgingly. His character was such a horrible jerk that I hated him, which only means that Church played his part perfectly. We aren’t supposed to like him. Well done everybody!
And as an interesting note, I learned that after the success of the film, the wine industry was dramatically affected. Tourism to the Santa Ynez Valley increased. Miles loved Pinot Noir and hated Merlot, and while Pinot Noir sales increased 16%, Merlot sales dropped 2%. A similar trend occurred in British wine outlets. This might not sound like a lot, but in the ten years after the film’s release, Merlot farmers apparently lost over $400 million in revenue. Who knew?