Cheap Sideways (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh) (Alexander Payne) Price

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Customer Reviews of Sideways (Widescreen Edition)

"It tastes so f*cking good"
Sideways starts off like your typical behavioral comedy. We meet the main characters and become familiar with their little eccentricities as they go through the motions of a normal miserable day. We meet Miles, a forty-something wine enthusiast who really makes an effort to be friendly to the people around. It's dishonest, and we can see that easily. But there's something about the way he makes small talk which makes him easy to empathize with from the get-go. <
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>His friend Jack is about to be married. Like Miles, Jack is kind to those around him. But where Miles seems more miserably isolated, Jack is an egotistical jerk. Still, like all great egotistical jerks in comedies, we secretly want to be like him, to carry that confidence that eludes us. We want to be antiheroes. <
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>Before Jack's wedding, Miles and Jack decide to take a week-long trip to wine-country. On the way, they stop at the home of Miles' mother, a sweet lady whose good intentions often lead to more misery. During dinner, Miles excuses himself to steal about $1000 from his mother's bedroom. This is a shock, but typical of the way children exploit their parents. Miles needed the money for the trip. We see the shame in his eyes, but also the helplessness. He seems beyond the point of redemption, but from what exactly? <
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>When he returns to dinner we find out. Like all mother's she tells Miles that he needs to get married, but while our brains are processing this cliche she continues one word longer than expected, saying "You should get married again." Suddenly all the pieces fall into place, and we understand how he came to be so heartbroken. <
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>There's something about Miles that I really connected with. He just wants to have a peaceful weekend, but circumstance demands that he puts up Jack's bullsh*t antics. The film never feels like it's exploiting Jack for comedic effect, but his utter lack of inhibition allows us to greater experience Miles' listlessness. He lives from wine sample to wine sample, percieving a poetry in the taste that no one else can appreciate. This is the one thing that keeps him going, but it also keeps him isolated from those around him. <
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>In a pivotal scene in the film, Miles "drinks and dials" his ex-wife who, as cruel fate would have it, has remarried. The lenswork in this scene awed me beyond belief my first time viewing it. Miles paces as he talks on the phone, to and from the camera's point of view. He stays in focus, but his his movements cause the background to drift between different levels of focus. As well as offering an intimite look at Miles' detachment from the world, it also gave the distinct impression of being drunk. <
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>A lot of people call Sideways overrated, but the way I see it, they just have an underdeveloped pallette and can't appreciate its bittersweet taste. In my opinion, this is the best film of 2004 (Kill Bill: Volume 2 is inferior unless combined with Volume 1).

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The Motion Picture Academy's fantasy on parade
It's not often a film this close to mediocre gets nominated for Oscar consideration. Most buddy films like this one -- including "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" and "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- are viewed as two and a half star films. <
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>This one, for whatever reason, was given far more consideration by the Hollywood establishment and was nominated for an Oscar for best picture. Why would that happen? Most people know the films that are most heavily-promoted get the most nominations, meaning this film must have won the promotion award. <
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>Also, this fantasy about two middle aged slackers resonated with the wine-drinking establishment in L.A. and probably seemed to them like some kind of reality. This seems reasonable since the characters they projected -- an actor and failing writer -- are the archtype cliches from New York and Hollywood films. These characters are perhaps more representative of the Hollywood establishment than any other. <
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>Whatever the case, there is nothing outstanding in this movie except for one funny scene crashing a car. There were some nice scenes and a couple that were funny, but this is a two and a half star film. It is absurd to think this film so magnificent is ranks in league with the greatest films ever made. <
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>Nominating "Sideways" as best film of 2004 says far more about the Motion Picture Academy membership than it does about the quality of this or any other film released in 2004.

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A very good movie.......highly recommended.
This is definitely a good movie. It is about two friends, Miles and Jack, played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who are traveling California's Vineyards, tasting wine, reminiscing, enjoying life. Jack is about to get married; Miles is trying to get over his divorce. <
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>The two men meet some beautiful women, Sandra Oh and Virgina Madsen. They get together for some good times, laughs, and some romance. The men discover that to be happy is important. How they initially go about it may not have been the right approach, but at some point in their lives they figure some things out, solve some problems, and recover. <
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>It is a good adult comedy. The movie is very different in how typically or generally comedy is portrayed or constructed. I loved the movie; it had me laughing....... <
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>Diego Rodriguez