A wine-tasting road
trip through California's famed Central Coast takes an unexpected
detour as Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) hit
the gas en route to their mid-life crises. The comically
mismatched pair soon find themselves drowning in wine, women
(Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh)...and laughter!
CRITIQUE
Part road movie and
part character drama, Sideways is another very good film by
director Alexander Payne, who previously directed the
critically-acclaimed About Schmidt and Election. The
characters and dialogue are key to the success of the script.
Making the characters stand out above the page are four terrific
performances by Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia
Madsen and Sandra Oh. The scenes they share together, such as the
foursome dinner, come alive real well, which is both due to the
acting and Payne's great direction. The story is also important
but rather than driven by "events" it formulates through the
"actions" of the characters and the choices they make. The movie
is one of my top thirteen favorite films of last year, and
therefore I'm recommending it for your viewing pleasure.
THE VIDEO
Fox presents
Sideways in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors look clean
and well saturated. Print quality is quite good except for some
specks and a little bit of grain in more than several scenes.
Sharpness and detail are good, however, and overall the
presentation is good.
THE AUDIO
Fox presents
Sideways in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Dialogue is clear and
easy to understand, with the front speakers delivering noise free
audio. The rear speakers are hardly active as the movie is mostly
dialogue-driven. The few sound effects and Rolfe Kent's score are
presented clearly.
THE EXTRAS
The audio
commentary by actors Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church
proves to be more jokes and laughs than informative comments.
These guys share some fun stories and poke fun at themselves and
others, but also talk about their female co-stars as well as
specific scenes.
A brief making-of
featurette, congratulatory and happy-talk interviews as well
as some on-set footage included, and seven deleted scenes,
with written introduction by Payne, round out the main special
features.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sideways is
three things: funny, romantic and dramatic. Not only is it the
script that's so good (it deservedly won the Academy Award for
best adapted screenplay), it's the combination of strong directing
and excellent performing by the actors that makes this movie a joy
to watch. The DVD is a little lackluster, however, especially
considering the movie was nominated for five Oscars. The
commentary is good, but Payne's input is missing, and the lack of
a making-of documentary is disappointing. Still, I recommend a
purchase.
