For several months I had been bemoaning the lack of humorous films that had been showing at the local art cinema. Plenty of European angst, but very little just plain, and well presented fun. So on seeing the trailer for "Sideways" I knew I needed to get my laughter fix.
The plot is simple almost to the point of absurdity, two guys go off on a pre-wedding holiday around the vineyards of California and funniness is unleashed. Actually there is a bit more to it than that. The two male leads are Jack, the confident and boisterous actor - played by Thomas Haden Church, and his best man, Miles - played by Paul Giamatti (of American Splendor/Harvey Pekar fame) who is neither handsome nor confident.
So the two men are very much yin and yang, Jack is about to get married and full of the exuberance of life having a relatively successful acting career. Miles, who knew Jack though sharing a room at college, has been recently divorced and is totally despondent, about his failed marriage and problems with getting a book published. The one thing that does seem to excite Miles is his love of wine, especially Pinot Noir. So the two head off in Miles' open top Saab to explore the produce of the grapes, and in so doing attempt to figure out what makes them both tick.
We soon learn that the two men also have drastically different ideas of a good time and the tensions between the two soon become awakened. Jack has a very clear idea of what goals he wishes to attain during their week away from home, whereas Miles wants to coast along and just keep things simple.
So it is with Jack's insistence that we are introduced to the principle female characters in the film, Maya and Stephanie - excellently portrayed by Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. The two gents begin friendships of varied intensity which threaten to drive them further apart from each other, and so the film progresses bringing the story to a logical conclusion. However, it is the telling of this tale where the strength of the film lies, and there are comparisons that one could draw to Woody Allen films, which mix humour, pathos, drama, and a dash of slapstick to provide a couple of hours of great entertainment mixed with some analysis of the human condition.
As well as this the film excels its cinematic style. There are elements of split screen work, and some very nice pieces of camera work, which are so well done as to not distract from the main emphasis of the film, that being the characters.
It came as little surprise to me that director Alexander Payne had previously directed "About Schmidt" and had probably taken his chance to work from Rex Pickett's book as the feel of his previous work could be applied effectively to this latest piece.
***** (out of 5)
