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Ishamael
Feb 18, 2004

You don't have to love me, but you will respect me.
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden-Church

"Sideways" is a small film by the director of "About Schmidt", which was another fine film.

This film takes place in California, and tells the story of Miles (Paul Giamatti - American Splendor), an English teacher, wine snob, and failed writer, who takes his actor friend Jack (Thomas Hayden Church - Wings) on a week-long bachelor party trip through wine country.

Obviously there are plenty of misadventures and strange happenings on the way, but I don't want to give any away. I will simply say that I laughed harder at some parts of this movie than I have in a really long time.

I think Alexander Payne's real gift lies in two areas. First, he chooses fantastic scripts to direct. About Schmidt was a wonderful, beautiful film, and this one is even better. Second, his talent for naturalistic directing. When watching one of his movies, it feels like you're watching a slice of someone's life. He directs his actors to act natural better than anyone else, and that is an incredibly hard thing to do. When you can remove all traces of "acting" from the screen, I think that's a talent that deserves to be praised and recognized.

This film is in limited release, so only those of you in big cities can see it for now. But if it's not in your city now, don't despair. It will be out on video soon.

If you live in Los Angeles, it's currently playing at The Grove on 3rd and Fairfax.

RATING: 5.0

PROS: Fantastic film, so naturalistic and believable, really funny
CONS: Could have used a little more love story

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/

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Squall91
Nov 19, 2002

DONG LARGO DEL BURRO DEL DONG
I felt this film was alright. The story got a bit preposterous at times and I could have done without the whole wine motif which was useless and unneeded except for that scene out on the porch where Miles and Maya (sp?) talk about wine, which has the most obvious metaphors ever (I like them when they're a bit more subtle, you know?).

What almost ruined this film for me was Jack. One of the dumbest characters I have ever seen in a film. GEE, I JUST GOT MY NOSE BASHED IN BY A WOMAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GOING TO GET MARRIED, NOW I'M GOING TO gently caress A FAT WAITRESS!!! I wish the ending was less happy and featured him getting even more hosed than he was...maybe his fiancee could have found out about what really happened or something.

However, the rest of the actors save this film, especially Paul Giamatti (one of the most underappreciated actors of today...hopefully that'll change with this and American Splendor). Yet again, he puts on one of my favorite performances of the year. The two actresses (Madsen and Oh) have pretty normal roles that don't require any stretch of ability so I guess they were alright as well.

3.5/5

Hamburger Legs
Mar 9, 2004

"COACH I feel like I might die out here. I cant take any more soda." "What a boy needs in this situation Jimmy is CHIPS, much better f
Just saw this movie and I have to say that I liked it a lot. I don't agree with Squall91 in not liking the character Jack. I thought it was quirky and funny in a lot of subtle ways and not so subtle ways. I do agree with Squall91 about Paul Giamatti however. I thought he was great in American Splendor, and I think he is great in Sideways. I would definitely recommend this movie if you like dark/dry comedies.

4/5

Undaine
Jun 5, 2002

All done running...
Wonderful film. I live in Santa Barbara and my girlfriend in Santa Maria. She has worked in Buelton and I've volenteered helping her there with her kids. It was entirely trippy to see all the locations we knew, which was pretty much the entire movie. It was laughable when they kept saying "Lets go north/south/east/to the moon!" and they'de show like 8 shots of different landmarks along the 101 in the wrong order, then 'arrive' in a new town that's actually less than a mile from the last location they shot. One of the shots (the mom's house) was actually my girlfriends neighbors house. She saw all the trucks and everything. Along with that, some of her friends were in the film.

Anyway, we went to see the film from mutual interest in it and I was more than pleased. The comedy is well delivered. I liked all the flawed characters through out the film and was very amused. I was concerned going in that it was going to be a romantic girl comedy, but it's definatly not.

Very worth seeing. May see again.

5/5

Expensive Shirt
Jul 18, 2003
Hilarious Custom TItle
I loved this film. I felt that it was very successful in everything that it went out to accomplish. At times, it was hilarious. Other times, it made you want to cry. It put you through such a large range of emotions that only great films can do. Most importantly, it made me care about the characters. I cared what happened to Miles. I was happy when I thought him and Maya were going to be together. I was sad when those thoughts were crushed.

Living in California, this movie has an amazing feel to me. It feels very real. It doesn't feel like a movie as much as it feels like I was watching a recording of a road trip that actually happened. Superb, superb.

5/5

Poopy MacDuff
Nov 23, 2004
I'm not Irish.
This was a great movie. According to what I've heard George Clooney begged to star in this wonderful film but Payne wanted not to have any real Hollywood stars in the film. As much as I love to see Hollywood actors breaking convention (doing it well at least) I have to agree with Alexander Payne on this one, Clooney isn't the man for the job.

But on the other hand Paul Giamati, as much as i love him, as of recent he's becoming more and more of that wonderfully type-casted depressed guy who we can all feel bad for. I love his role in this movie and i love American Splendor but as far as Alexander Payne's vision of having no stars, i'm not sure how well that was done with Paul Giamati. I can't complain, Giamati did make the film in a way i'm not sure another actor could have.

Great film.
5/5

klsatolbo
Feb 7, 2004
Don't be surprised if this film gets nominated for Best Picture, taking the independent spot that Lost in Translation had last year.

The reason this movie is so great is because the characters are so plain. They're not special, they are simply ordinary people. This is why this movie touches people of so many levels.

The cinematography is superb... the wine country is simply beautiful.

Most of all, this movie is FUNNY. It's really a feel good movie, despite its many depressing parts.

Alexander Payne visited my college and had a Q&A about the film after the screening, and he basically made all the pretentious film students feel stupid when they asked him about motifs, and metaphors and all that poo poo. He said that he thinks of a rough idea for a film, writes it with his partner, films it.. and what comes out in the end is the film, but he certainly doesn't plan special meaning and subtext consciously. I think this is why Sideways is by no means a pretentious film, and why its going to be a one to remember.

5 out of 5

PROS: Characters, story, dialogue
CONS: Could have been shorter

Clockhead
Nov 30, 2004
I love movies like Sideways because they're not just movies to go to and put your brain on the back burner for a couple of hours. Sideways is a movie with enough truths and insights to make you cringe, and I'm sure that many that see this movie will cringe.

The story is simple: depressed Miles (Paul Giamatti) and cocksure Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) take a weeklong vacation in wine country before Jack has his wedding. Jack is brash and wants to get laid, and to get his friend laid. Miles, who is the beautiful loser, goes along with the plan because, really, what else would he do? The rest of the story follows, not from some plot that manipulates everything but lets the characters steer the course of the movie.

Miles is an everyman, a loser, a schlepp. He's neurotic, drinks too much, has terrible luck with women, under-confident, upset with his job, unsatisfied, etc. But, he does know a lot about wine. He is the character of the audience, because everyone has frustrations and everyone knows a lot about something. For someone it's wine, another it's cars, movies, computers, etc. (Just realized I used etc. twice in the same paragraph. I don't know how I feel about that.)

Jack is the friend that everyone is bullied by. He's suave, a little slimy and at heart pathetic. We all pity our Jacks, but we always help them out because of loyalty and friendship.

It's a story of friendship and the bickering that comes with it. It contains some really hilarious sequences, including a scene in a winery where Miles flies off the handle that is destined to go down in movie history.

So, if you can, go check this movie out. Go to cringe, go to laugh, go to wish you weren't Miles only to walk out and realize that you are. It's really great, one of the best movies in a long time.

5.5

insideoutsider
Aug 31, 2003

You want a van? I get you a van.
I saw this move last night and really enjoyed it. Miles and Jack remind me of the relationship I have with my friend and that's very well were I could be in 20 years.

I really enjoyed the dark comedy in the film. There were a lot of great jokes that I know I could find funnier after multiple viewings of the film. Miles was a great character and his wine elitist cracked me up a lot. I thought Thomas Hayden Church was great as Jack and was really into the character.

The film follows the great Alexander Payne style while still being unique. Great music, long shots of the characters face, smart dialogue, all great stuff.

I would like to see the film again so I can get everything. The movie almost requires it. Once the story is out of the way there are a lot of things that slip through the cracks. I was the only person in the theater laughing when he was in the coffee shop in the beginning and he asked for some spinach pastry. I thought that was so funny for some reason. like in About Schmidt were he asks for a blizzard with vanilla ice cream. Payne genius? yes

insideoutsider fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Dec 4, 2004

Sarcasmo
Dec 1, 2003

Il me restait à souhaiter qu'ils m'accueillent avec des cris de haine.
This movie is funny and depressing. It's hilarious because it portrays people realistically in a realistic setting, and I am a huge fan of that. Like About Schmidt, everything these people did was totally in the realm of possibility, unlike many movies where one can get distracted by plotholes. The writing was tight, and the neuroses and self-delusions were very real.

4/5

sevenflow
Jun 28, 2003
just watch it for a second
I really, really enjoyed this movie. I think part of what made the characters so believable is that they were all dreamers at heart that were setting themselves up for dissapointment. Who can't relate to that? As others have said, some scenes will have you laughing hysterically, while others will have you squirming in your seat because they are so familiarly uncomfortable.

Aside from that, the acting was spot on, and the montages were some of the best constructed sequences that I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the theater I was in suffered from bad audio, but from what I did hear, most of the soundtrack seemed to fit well with the general mood of the particular scene. The cinematography also deserves acknowledgement, as it is mostly beautiful cuts of driving through California's wine country shot with high exposure that gives most of the scenery an extremely warm look.

I especially liked how the ending tied into the ending of Miles' own book.

This is definitely one to see if it's showing in your area, or a rental at the very least when it's on video.

5/5

Jenny of Oldstones
Jul 24, 2002

Queen of dragonflies
Great film. It is very much a California period piece (if there is such a thing), from the wine to the scenery to the weird laid back but inherently elite-even-though-you-keep-loving-up attitudes of the guys. It's sort of cool seeing places and stretches of highways that you've lived in/traveled in a movie like that.

There were some great funny scenes (wallet scene, hehe), combined with an overall wtf despair from Miles' point of view, which kept things rolling pretty nicely.

My only problem is not seeing a bit of resolution in the matter of money "borrowed," but still: 5/5

Wickedcapedkid
Oct 7, 2002

Bam!
movie was awesome! It was darkly humorous, heart-tingling, and utterly depressing all at the same time.

I think I'll see it again. I just wish the ending could've been a little more direct.

I sell out for boobs
Feb 23, 2001

Unlike the mass of the forums, I don't feel the movie was as brilliant as pegged by critics. The main problem for me regarding the movie is that I HATED Miles character. His constant analytical talk of wine annoyed the hell out of me, and caused me to detach myself from the movie. Since about the first hour features Paul being this neurotic reclusive wine freak, I found myself practically falling asleep. I will give the director and writer credit though, the second half of the film really was impressive. Most of the brilliantly acted scenes by Giammati were within the last hour, (nods to scene in wedding parking lot)and after the errant golf shot, I found myself liking his character a lot more. The movie was just overall a lot funnier in latter scenes too.

Lastly, I'd like to agree with whoever said they'd like to see Jack getting hosed more at the end, although I liked how the ending was cut.

Pros: Humorous, great second half, natural and more high brow than most Hollywood offerings
Cons: First half is slow (I know a lot of people will say that Miles character had to be that depressing and lame in the first half to see his character progress...but I just really couldn't stand him at all) Wine talk is overdone

Voted: 3.5

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
I expected a good movie and I came away satisfied. Like everyone I wanted Jack to get hosed, but I guess it would have detracted from the end. Everything that needed to be said already has been, so I'll just throw in my vote.

4.5/5

NADZILLA
Dec 16, 2003
iron helps us play
Enjoyable all around, but it helps if you can relate to the situation Miles finds himself in, both in terms of the social isolation that tends to follow a hard break-up, and the self-hatred that accompanies having hobbies that nobody gives a poo poo about. At times, even when Mya seemed interested, you could read her face to mean "let's talk about something else now," which I'm well-acquainted with from whenever a girl asks me about all the video game poo poo in my apartment.

It's funny and bittersweet. The entire sequence trying to get Jack's wallet back was the hardest I've laughed at a movie this year, and the shot of Miles in the diner after the wedding is pretty damned heartbreaking. At times it's a bit contrived, like all the crappy wine-as-metaphor-for-life speeches, but otherwise it's just great.

Five.

MaoistBanker
Sep 11, 2001

For Sound Financial Pranning!
I really enjoy seeing a young director's authorship being fleshed out, and I think this is Alexander Payne's best film so far. It's a classic melodrama, sure, but some of the touches I am used to seeing in Payne's films are becoming apparent. For instance, he is one of the most creative directors when it comes to making sure his characters feel like real and authentic people. These were no supernatural beings, in fact, sometimes just seeing them was downright depressing, but you know what? A lot of people are like that in daily life. All of the characters I met in this film were exactly like someone you would meet in real life. Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh were extremely attractive, but not flawless. Payne himself says that he likes his characters to never stray too far from the middle, and this is apparent as the course of the story moves forward. The comedy was split around and made it more effective. I don't think I have laughed so hard in the last year when Miles runs into the fat waitress' house to retrieve Jack's wallet. My friends had to shoosh me well into the next scene.

A great film.

4/5

DukeRustfield
Aug 6, 2004
Very good film. I think people on this forum are pretty good about this, but it helps to let others know the conditions you saw the movie in, because that makes a big difference. If you watch a movie at home after you ran over your dog, for instance.

I saw this in a probably lower-upper class neighborhood with middle-age+ people. I.e., probably the best conditions possible.

I think Jack and Miles are like the two guys in all of us men. You have more or less of each. But if you've never met either of those characters like up to 90% identical, then you're either very young or you are locked in a basement.

Look, you can either eat cotton candy or an orange. The cotton candy is sweeter, instantly good, but the orange is better for you in the long run. Jack shouldn't have been "punished" because that's exactly what Hollywood would have done. Somehow having poo poo sprayed on him and telling Miles, "you know, you were right."

LOVE THE WINE TALK! That's one of the screenwriting truisms. People love trivia in movies. Think of all you know about hi-tech security systems and hotwiring cars and bank schedules from movies. People like getting expert information--of course it helps if you're in the wine drinking age. I appreciate the research of the film. He didn't go, that wine is stinky cuz it is. I learned something.

Very real movie. I'm going to give it a 4 simply because I didn't find it THAT funny or THAT engaging. 3 of the 4 main characters had no arc whatsoever. Miles changed only slightly. So at the end I got the sense that these events simply weren't that important in their lives.

Mike_V
Jul 31, 2004

3/18/2023: Day of the Dorks
For some reason, this movie was sold out on a Sunday night at 7:40. I'm not saying it's undeserving of being sold out, but it's been out over a month here in St. Louis so I found it weird. Maybe because it's being offered up as Oscar-worthy.

Anyways, on to the actual movie. I loved it; easily should be considered for an Oscar due to the terrible crop of films offered up this year (well, ones that would be even considered for Oscars, we aren't counting the The Corporations or foreign flicks). The cinematography was beautiful, aided nicely by the California landscape. Giamatti turned in an Oscar worthy performance, I think, and Jack was a nice foil to Giamatti. Many hilarious scenes throughout and what a guy "buddy" movie should be.

8.5/10

fyrabanks
Nov 29, 2002

smoke
eh
5.5

fyrabanks fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Oct 29, 2013

StrikerObi
Aug 1, 2003
SECharger73 hates sad reminders :[
Sideways turned out to be my second favorite movie of the year (after Garden State). I love Paul Giamatti and his character in this movie is amazing. Miles is such a loser, I really felt for him. Putting him next to a popular crazy fun guy like Jack provided a great mix. The fact that these two are friends is amazing to me. They are so wildly different.

The drama is really good and feels so natural. The comedy is hilarious. The golf fight was my favorite.

Overall: 5/5, can't wait for the DVD.

Socrates
Nov 2, 2003

by Y Kant Ozma Post
Personally this is my pic for most overrated movie of the year. Several people personally recommended it to me, but IMO, it was an above-average script, well executed, and not much more.

I occasionally laughed, didn't really care about the characters, and laughed AT the movie when Giamatti did his Constanza impersonations outside the restaurant. Maybe I sabotaged my experience with high expectations, but I think the movie just ain't that great.

I saw About Schmidt and this has the same sort of ethos. "Everyday life involves frustration, which, though amusing from an outsider's perspective, will depress normal people." It can be entertaining, but it's not really my bag.

I was hoping Sideways would be more of the energy-comedy of Payne's Election with the gravitas of Schmidt. The acting was good, but I don't see why Sandra Oh is getting so much praise - and I like Sandra Oh. I just think the part didn't give her her much an opportunity to display her talent. Anyway, I Don't See What the Big Deal Is. For a movie that explores a tense friendship between a womanizer and an introvert, I recommend The Tailor of Panama.

3.5

FWIW, I've noticed that many of the 5 reviews here involved people with personal connections to California... :ninja:

DetectiveDrebin
Jun 17, 2003

U... SSS... C! USC FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!
This movie had such a good, dark humor and excellent acting.
If you don't like this movie, I feel sorry for you.
5

Chesty O'Coine
Apr 5, 2003

Cake or Death?
I saw this movie over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I don't know if it's quite the masterpiece that the critics are hyping it up to be, but it's still drat good. But I prefer movies that rely on good dialog and true to life characters rather than flashy special effects. I'm far younger than the characters in this movie, but I felt I could relate to them. And there were some hilarious moments that I was still laughing at long after the movie was over. The aforementioned golfing scene, when Jack nonchalantly drives the car into a tree and "I am NOT drinking any loving merlot!"

I know a lot of people were put off by the in depth wine talk, but it actually made me wish I knew more about wine. I'm not a big wine fan and I've never been to wine country, but after seeing this movie I really want to go there and learn more about quality wines (I probably haven't found a wine I like because all I drink is the cheap stuff!)

4/5

FunOne
Aug 20, 2000
I am a slimey vat of concentrated stupidity

Fun Shoe
The movie finally came out in my area and I went to go see it. Surprising number of people for effectively an indie film on a Sunday night.

Love it, some of the symbolism was WAY over the top but the detail of the acting and the quality of the shots was amazing. I really felt like you could see into the persons thoughts with the little twitches and glances. The shots of the Chinese restraunt at 2:30 in the afternoon really struck home with me. You could identify with both characters in a tangible way from the sad and alone to the brazen and stupid.

Also, the amount of naked man in this movie mad me laugh very much. Naked man running = funny poo poo.



Love the film. Its not pretentious like many indy films (its too smart to be funny!) and the quality of the characters and acting is top notch. Moving and funny.

5/5

EDIT: Also, I don't live in California and the one time I visited that area I hated it.

Craptacular!
Jul 9, 2001

Fuck the DH
Yuck. I wanted to walk out, the only reason I didn't is because I was watching it with company.

The characters in this movie are done really well, I have to give credit for that. But the situations are just so fake. Perhaps it's because I've lived in California all my life or something, in the suburbs of the Sonoma wine country. I've seen the kinds of stuff they show in this film and it's terribly unreal.

One scene has the two main characters running down a hill in a chase, and they wind up in the vineyard and closely inspect some grapes. In real life, that would not happen. First of all, while running down the hill you probably trip on a root and fall down or step on a gopher hole and break your leg. Then you would get nowhere near the grapes because this is private property and those grapes can be valued at a fortune, so the winery doesn't just let anybody run down a hill and step into a vineyard as they please. You are also about as unlikely to "sneak in" four people into a cellar to make out.

And when they're not in a winery, they're playing golf on a crazy-huge course that seems to stretch out into the horizon or some such poo poo. I'm sorry, but this is so phony. No normal people are doing this. In fact, one of the double-edged swords of living in rural California is that there is so much space and fields, but you can not enjoy them, because they are owned by somebody who is not you.

In short, this feels like how New Yorkers envision California, which is amazing considering they actually went out into California valleys to make this.

Ditto some of the script. With the notable exception of the main character's best friend and travelling mate, everybody in this movie who is given something as simple as a name is a big wine buff. While I recognize that the point of the movie is these characters' relationships revolve around drinking wine, they did not have to provide me with sequences that seem to go on forever of people acting pretentious and like upper-class twits. I understand that Miles is very snooty and high-culture about his wine hobby when he doesn't live a high culture life outside of it. The irony of that would not be lost on me or most the audience if was delivered a little more subtle.

Overall, the "everybody whose anybody knows the difference between a cabernet and a merlowe" stuff feels like how east coast folk probably envision Californians. Suprised?

A minor quibble in that the entire movie focuses on a really terrible time in Miles' life and I'm not quite sure why they chose to do that. It's not the most depressing movie of all-time, but the "let's go have some fun on the road" theme sheds very quickly to something that's a little touching, and then a little depressing, and then eventually just sad. This decision was most likely intentional, judging by when the screen blacks out and the credits roll.

I give it a 2.0. It's saved from a disaster rating by great characters and the script outside of the wine stuff makes them seem like real people. But, I'm going to have to make the old Holden Caulfield comment and say that the actual sequences surrounding this felt incredibly phony.

Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 13:10 on Feb 2, 2005

DukeRustfield
Aug 6, 2004

quote:

One scene has the two main characters running down a hill in a chase, and they wind up in the vineyard and closely inspect some grapes. In real life, that would not happen. First of all, while running down the hill you probably trip on a root and fall down or step on a gopher hole and break your leg. Then you would get nowhere near the grapes because this is private property and those grapes can be valued at a fortune, so the winery doesn't just let anybody run down a hill and step into a vineyard as they please.
Just got to comment a bit. I've actually ran down a number of hills in my life and didn't burst into flames. And in the film SOMEONE ran down that hill. Maybe it was stunt people they didn't care about if they died, knowing how dangerous hills are. But presumably that was a real life hill not constructed just for the scene. Maybe it was all CGI?

And while vineyards are private property and worth something. It's not like they are located in Foot traffic central. No one is around there. And they have hundreds and hundreds of acres. It's hard to put up 30 foot machine gun studded walls to protect those diamond-valued grapes. I've been by a lot of farms and vineyards and tobacco fields and if I wanted to, I could walk in and grab a handful and leave. Got to your local grocery store and see how much damage that would be compared to the costs of erecting and maintaining a force field.

quote:

And when they're not in a winery, they're playing golf on a crazy-huge course that seems to stretch out into the horizon or some such poo poo. I'm sorry, but this is so phony. No normal people are doing this.
Yes. Normal people shun golf. And there is no golf in areas where there are rich, snobby people who own vineyards.
http://www.move2napavalley.com/napa/golf/

SmileyPonderosa
Dec 1, 2003

Barry White used to work. Shoot, even ABBA used to work, the way I was doin' my thang.
Watched it last night on DVD. Crossposted from my blog:

Contrary to the previews and ads, <i>Sideways</i> isn't so much about two buddies enjoying wine as it is about one of them getting a much-needed kick in the rear end.

The story focuses on Miles, an aimless novelist, and Jack, a smug has-been TV actor, as they take a trip through California's wine country. <i>Sideways</i> is a very difficult movie to watch, even when it's at its most rewarding, because its protagonists are so frustrating.

Miles relies on his failed marriage and an elusive publishing contract as gauges of his worth. With that crutch in place, he's free from the pressure of having to accomplish anything worthwhile with his life. He is so convinced of the uselessness of all his efforts that he doesn't even bother to fight; instead, he guzzles down bottle after bottle of fine wine to avoid facing inevitable rejection.

Through all this, he clings to his impressive palate and his knowledge of wine as (supposedly) his main redeeming trait. So convinced is Miles that he is a loser, that he only takes pride in things produced outside himself, rather than in what he can do. He spouts trivia and facts about wine like a true connoisseur, and comes off like an obnoxious fanboy.

Jack is Miles' foil - while Miles has reduced his ego to a speck, Jack is the ultimate narcissist. His actions and attitudes are repugnant to the point of unbelievability - unless the viewer already knows someone just like him. Jack's motto seems to be, "I don't care what harm I do, as long as I can get my dick wet." Friends, loved ones, and strangers, Jack stabs them all in the back, then takes umbrage at the merest hint that he is in the wrong.

So yeah, it's a difficult movie to watch.

Aside from that, it's shot beautifully, the dialogue is good, but the wine motif was a bit too HEY GUYS LOOK OUR TASTES IN WINE RELATE TO OUR CHARACTERS HEY LOOK SYMBOLISM WOO.

Having only seen Paul Giamatti in the sadly neglected <i>Safe Men</i>, it's nice to watch him tackle a more serious - and more pathetic - role.

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5/5.

fret logic
Mar 8, 2005
roffle
I personally didn't care a whole lot for this movie. I imagine it's the age group that I'm in (19). I feel the movie would have been a lot better without the wine. I understand it's pretty much based around wine, (trip to vinyards, everybody loves wine, wine experts), but it's pretty dull and boring. The acting on Giamatti's part was really well done, and I really could feel Miles' emotions as he progressed through the movie.

That was probably what I liked best, was watching Miles work at getting over the divorce, and finding love again. The fact that it ended on a good note, knowing that Miles would most likely end up with her was a good thing.

Overall I have no complaints about the acting, everyone played their parts well. As far as humor goes, it really wasn't all that funny to me.

All in all, I found it dull and slow. Maybe if I was older, or more interested in wine, it might not have bothered me. But given the fact that I could care less about wine, that kind of ruined the movie for me. There is simply too much of the movie based on it (Yes I know that it's not the center of the movie, I'm not that shallow) to make it enjoyable for someone who really doesn't care for it.

2/5

Roshi
Sep 25, 2002

Somebody from CC wasted $10 on a guy who does not give a shit what they think, so I'm re-purposing it because I'm too lazy to come up with another one.
I thought this movie was a great comedy, though it was had for me to relate to the character's on screen. The only down side was the ending with Thomas Hayden Church's character making a decision with was uncharacteristic. Other than that, great film and too bad it got snubed at the oscars.

4.5/5

Kronikle
Jan 31, 2005

yeah well that's just like your opinion, man
Pretty boring movie. The actors were great. That's probably the biggest pro of the movie.

The story was just boring. About an hour into it I was wondering when the real story was going to come together but it never did. It's as if the entire movie was just building up to something that could have been decent but after a while, you finally realized that this is the best the story is going to get before it finally ends. The whole wine theme was boring. Plain and simple.

The comedy was severely lacking. I counted a total of 4 times that I laughed at this movie. It's really disappointing that a comedy with such high reviews and such lofty praise from critics, some even citing it's the funniest movie they've ever seen, only has enough funny moments to count on one hand.

I walked out of this movie severely disappointed.

2/5

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squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
I was rather disappointed in this film, too. For me it seemed like a bleak analogy for life - the nice guys always lose, and the jerks always get away with murder and end up winning.

I enjoyed a lot of the drunken banter between the two, but for me, the characters were too aggravating for me to enjoy the film, even though it had been highly recommended to me as "oh, you in particular will just LOVE this film!".

2/5

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