Movie Review: Sideways

English teacher Miles (Paul Giamatti) wallows in the depression of his failed marriage and probably-failed attempt at publishing a novel. His friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a not-very-successful actor, is getting married in a week. Miles is not an alcoholic, he's an oenophile — but for him, the distinction is small; he feels confident in his knowledge about wine, but drinking it doesn't help his depression. Jack is addicted to women, and seems quite happy about it.

Miles takes Jack for a weeklong bachelor party in California wine country, and both plan to surrender to their addictions for that week. Maya (Virginia Madsen) is a waitress at one of Miles' favorite restaurants, and she's friends with Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a pour girl at a winery tasting room; predictably, the four become two couples as Miles and Maya get to know each other while Jack and Stephanie jump into the sack. Jack forbids Miles to stand in the way of his last fling, and makes Miles keep his mouth shut about Jack's upcoming wedding. After misunderstandings, revelations, betrayals and slapstick, Miles has undergone some plausible change. (Jack, not so much.)

Well, this movie is really about Miles coming out of his depression and moving on with his life after some bad times. He needed to stop re-living the unhappy parts of his life, transfer some of those into "learning experiences," and learn to trust himself and others again. It had some good performances, by Giamatti and Madsen. It had some good scenes, notably Giamatti's description of pinot noir. A couple of the lines were very funny, or heartbreaking, or poignant. A few parts were well filmed, notably scenes between Giamatti and Madsen, and some views of the vineyards. The wine discussions were interesting and funny, and sometimes had that good kind of self-deprecation.

But other parts looked like un-cinematic, like a cheap 70's TV show. The music was a throwback to TV background music of that era, as well. Thomas Haden Church plays a cad well, but that doesn't mean it's a great part; I was bored by his one-note character throughout 90% of the movie, and didn't buy his "transformation" at the end, at all. Sandra Oh (the director's wife) was little more than a vapid shell; they could have given her character more to do than drink and screw. The character of Miles was so well fleshed-out that he makes Jack and Stephanie seem like hollow caricatures. Only Madsen and Giamatti came away as thinking, feeling humans who truly changed between the beginning of the movie and the end.

I will give Alexander Payne props for his use of an uncertain ending; in this movie, I think that device works. I wasn't frustrated by it, and am probably more satisfied imagining what happened than seeing it. But this movie was too long, and I looked at my watch several times. Parts of it seemed very self-aware, like you could almost feel the director giving instructions and guiding movements; I don't like that feeling in movies. At times it didn't seem spontaneous or genuine.

"Sideways" is a movie for grownups. It's a talking movie. There are no special effects, no action shots or chase scenes, no explosions. (There is a very small car crash, but it's not Bruckheimer-esque.) I wonder if its nature as a simple and unadorned movie is what critics are responding to, when they add it to their top-ten lists — maybe they think it's such a relief from all the trappings, that it seems great to them. There are some very good elements here, but I don't think this film has greatness. I can't imagine it enduring in the way that some other "talking" movies (Diner, The Big Chill) have.

I'll give this two stars out of four. I would agree with a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Paul Giamatti, and a Best Supporting Actress nom for Virginia Madsen, but I would not agree with nominations for Best Picture, screenplay, director, music, or any other acting awards.