Sideways (or, How many wine analogies can one fit into a single film review?)

Okay, so you may have noticed that there are a few not-very-new-release movies popping up in these reviewish type posts. Sorry, but I am not going to apologise for this. All I am trying to do is let you know what you should see and what you shouldn't. At least then you have someone to blame! Which brings us to this film, Sideways. Why has it taken me so long to see this film?

The answer is simple: It seemed all too grown up. And it is!

Sideways both revels and wallows in its maturity. It is like a full bodied cabernet; it is not going to be loved by the masses (read under 18s). The age and experience needed to connect with this film is apparent from the beginning. Miles and Jack (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden-Church) head of on a bucks' wine tasting tour before Jack's wedding and end up hooking up with Maya and Stephanie (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh) at a bar/restaurant near their hotel. That is pretty much it. It is a concentrated character piece that succeeds because of its warmth and naturalness. It doesn't have all that much to say. It is just a good solid red.

Hell it is funny. Scarily, it brings back many memories of wine tasting tours and the pretentiousness that can follow you around. Unfortunately, just like a night out, the laughs dry up and everything gets heavy when the alcohol soaks in. While Sideways is not as successful in its downward slide, it is certainly evocative of those depressive waves that come on a drunken night after a breakup.

I am not writing anymore because my attention span has just expired! I want my MTV!

Tags: movie review