Some wines aren't at their best until they're four decades old, and I think that's the central metaphor in the bittersweet comedy "Sideways" (2004). The dispirited protagonist, who's fortyish and has suffered some setbacks, owns a bottle of an old Bordeaux that is at its peak, and it's when he drinks it near the end of the film that he finally begins to turn his life around.
I first saw "Sideways" in a theater, where I laughed loud and often, along with the rest of the audience. I wasn't at all surprised when later the movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Alexander Payne). Watching the film at home on DVD, I found the film just as entertaining as I had on the big screen.
"Sideways" chronicles a vacation trip taken by longtime friends Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), both of whom are around 40. They live in Southern California, and it's relatively easy for them to drive up to the wine country about an hour north of Santa Barbara. Miles, who's having trouble getting over a divorce, wants nothing more than drinking wine and male bonding, but Jack views the outing as an opportunity to have some sexual adventures before his upcoming wedding.
One of the most interesting things to me about "Sideways" is that it was shot in locations that are charming, but not generally well-known. The two guys check into an economy motel in the unglamorous town of Buellton and go to unpretentious wineries and restaurants that relatively few people have heard of. In Rex Pickett's novel on which the movie was based, Miles calls the wine region they visit "the poor man's Napa/Sonoma."
On the trip, Jack quickly connects with the sexy winery tasting room pourer Stephanie (Sandra Oh), and he arranges a double date where the reluctant Miles will be paired with the lovely Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress and graduate student. It's outside the restaurant where the four will have dinner that the two guys exchange the movie's best-known dialogue:
Jack: "And if they wanna drink merlot, we're drinkin' merlot."
Miles: "No. If anybody orders merlot, I'm leavin'. I am not drinkin' any (expletive) merlot!"
This seems pretty sophisticated to me since the filmmakers are hoping at least some viewers will understand that Miles, like many other wine snobs, believes merlot grapes—except when used judiciously for blending—tend to yield wines which are bland and characterless.
Although "Sideways" is for the most part humorous, I would say it has considerable resonance because it takes a humanistic look at male mid-life crisis. The movie shows Miles's despondency and his obsession with wine to be a potentially disastrous combination. The film's title is slang for drunk.
I consider "Sideways" to be a gem of a movie that is strong in every aspect of filmmaking. It got the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, and it received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Also, the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble performance went to the movie's principals: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh.
The "Sideways" DVD comes with a few bonus materials. There's an audio commentary track with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, and it's the best I've heard featuring actors. The guys are knowledgeable, have great chemistry together, and are at times hilarious. For example, they give us the origin of the fictional name Frass Canyon Winery, which is where Miles throws a tantrum. According to them, frass is a word for bug excrement.
Also, the DVD contains half a dozen deleted scenes and an alternate version of the scene where the two couples spend a delightful afternoon together. All these scenes are shown with a little context around them so you can see how they would have fitted into the movie if they had not been cut. Finally, there's a six-and-a-half-minute behind-the-scenes featurette where director Alexander Payne talks a little about his film.
On the next page, I've detailed all the special features of the "Sideways" DVD.
