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DVD REVIEW FOR
"SIDEWAYS"

(2004) (Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church) (R)

Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides
127 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1)
16x9 - Widescreen
English
French, Spanish
English
French, Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual Layer

PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW

AUDIO/VIDEO ELEMENTS:
Although it looks a tad soft and a bit high in contrast early on, the picture improves rather quickly, resulting in a sharp image with decent color reproduction. While the audio tracks are mostly dominated by dialogue (not surprisingly considering the subject matter), a subdued jazz score and various ambient effects keep things lively enough from an aural standpoint.
EXTRAS:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Running audio commentary by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church.
  • 7 Deleted Scenes with a text introduction by Alexander Payne.
  • Behind the Scenes Featurette - 6+ minute look at the film and its production, including clips from it, behind the scenes footage and various interviews.
  • Theatrical trailer.
  • COMMENTS:
    Making wine is a fairly straightforward and simple, yet uncertain and complicated endeavor. You take a bunch of normal and unassuming grapes, put them together, let 'em ferment for a while, give 'em a little air, and then hope for the best. In all of director Alexander Payne's films -- "Citizen Ruth," "Election" and "About Schmidt" -- the characters have been everyday types who've been fermenting to varying degrees and durations.

    Yet, Payne and his regular writing partner Jim Taylor (who also penned "Jurassic Park III" ) have so far successfully managed to turn what would otherwise seem to be bland ingredients into satisfying cinematic wines that have ranged from good to brilliant in aroma, body and taste. The filmmaking duo has followed that formula again in "Sideways," a dramedy where wine serves as both a plot element and metaphor for its characters and their situation in life.

    Adding another life generation to their mix, the filmmakers have settled on two middle-aged grapes, um, men, who are going through their own forms of midlife crises. One feels the need to sow his wild oats one last time (or 2 or 3) before his marriage the following weekend. The other is his best friend, a schlub who's a wine snob but is unsuccessful in both romance (his wife left him and he's never moved on) and profession (he can't get his latest novel published).

    The two set out on a bachelor's retreat of traveling across the California countryside tasting wine and doing some male bonding stuff. No, it doesn't sound like much, but like the grape to wine process, Payne and Taylor manage to make the effort better than it sounds.

    The results will likely vary with a viewer's tastes. Those looking for a light but not hilarious character study of middle-aged American male losers will likely slurp it down. On the other hand, those expecting the depth of "Citizen Ruth," the sharp satire of "Election" or the touching elements of "About Schmidt" might find the offering palatable, but not the best they've ever tasted.

    I fall more into the latter category. While I found it entertaining enough as a whole, nothing -- from a comedy or drama standpoint -- really impressed or moved me to any tremendous degree. Although the film has been adapted from Rex Pickett's novel, the road trip element felt a little too much like Jack Nicholson similar journey of self-discovery in "Schmidt." And some of the wine symbolism (such as where the descriptions of certain wines are metaphors for certain character traits) was a little too obvious for my tastes.

    In addition, while Paul Giamatti ("American Splendor," "Private Parts") and Thomas Hayden Church ("George of the Jungle," TV's "Ned and Stacey") are rather good in their respective roles, their characters didn't seem to be too much of a stretch for them. That's particularly true of Giamatti who's played this sort of loser character so many times before that I'm surprised he doesn't have a big "L" branded on his forehead.

    That said, the actor imbues this one with enough fine nuances that the performance nevertheless works, and rather well at that. That's something of a testament to both the actors and the filmmakers since the characters are not really what one would consider as viewer-friendly types (as compared to Nicholson in the last film).

    Sandra Oh ("Under the Tuscan Sun," "Big Fat Liar") and Virginia Madsen ("The Haunting," "The Rainmaker") appear as the two women who cross the paths and get involved with the men in mid-crisis mode. Both are fine in their roles, but this is really just a two-man show where the ladies (and the wine) come in a distant third.

    While some of the material seems unnecessary (a raid into a couple's house to retrieve a wallet during their lovemaking only seems present to show another middle-aged nude person following Kathy Bates in "Schmidt"), and the film is a bit long, there's enough dry wit, observational humor and solid performances for this 2004 offering - that earned 5 Oscar nominations and 1 win for Best Screenplay -- to earn a recommendation for adults.

    Sideways (Widescreen Edition) is now available for purchase by clicking here.

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