Sideways

[Pencey]

This film has really grown on me...

When I saw it in the theater, I liked it. After watching it on cable a couple of times this week, I now love it. I can really see myself in each of the main characters which probably has something to do with its appeal to me.

Miles is analytical and neurotic while Jack is a ladies man and positive-thinker. I probably lie somewhere in between the two.

It really is a great story and the chemistry between the two is really good, even though they seem like total opposites who'd have nothing in common. Maybe that's part of the attraction to the film. We see how each character needs the other to become a whole person. Each is misssing something that the other has. Miles needs to learn how to have fun but I think at the same time, Jack needs Miles to "reel him in" once in awhile to appreciate what he's got.

Thoughts?

[whitenavel]

I like and appreciate this film more after several viewings on satellite too.

Excellent work from all involved. Great humor too.

[billythrilly7]

Loved it in the theater.

Loved it again when I watched it on HBO the other night.

[roscoegino]

Payne and Taylor are no slouches when it comes to detail and character construction. Movie's cliche free with great dialogue and top notch acting.

Other than the wine appreciation scene between Giamatti and Madsen, I loved the scene where he gets meets up with his ex and learns she's pregnant.
And the collage of images midway through was a welcome touch.

Only quip is that the first act could have been wound a little tighter. But once it gets rolling...

[Biohazard]

Excellent writing, average directing. Good movie overall.

[refriedwhiskey]

It's a funny, touching flick that hits way too close to home for..um...some people.

[billythrilly7]

lol..yes, there are many people I know who told me they can really relate to the Miles character.

[Pencey]

Payne and Taylor are no slouches when it comes to detail and character construction.

Oh yeah. Some of the funniest parts of the movie are the looks that Jack gives Miles when he says stupid things. For instance, when they're at the bar and he tells Mia that they're gonna go back to the motel and crash. The look on Jack's face is priceless.

[refriedwhiskey]

lol..yes, there are many people I know who told me they can really relate to the Miles character.
Yeah, and anybody who related to Jack probably wouldn't admit it.

[habronic]

i watched the first 20 minutes and didn't like it very much, so i ended up turning it off. forgot to take it back to the video store and figured seen as how i was paying for it twice i might as well give it another shot. ended up really loving it (i musta been in a crap movie watching mood or something the first time).

and the naked, running fat guy is comedy gold. in fact, as are all the jokes in the last 30 mins or so.

i heard the dvd commentary with giamatti and hayden-church is really good, but i haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.

[roscoegino]

Now is it just me or could Giamatti play a live action Homer Simpson if he shaved his head?

[refriedwhiskey]

Speaking as a man whose hairline is approaching that of Giamatti, I doubt you could pay him enough to go ahead and shave it off.

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Its a decent little flick, but somewhat over rated. Maybe it just stands out more because there have been so many bad films of late.

[Hairy Lime]

I relate to both Jack and Miles. And I'll admit it.

[dgrunert]

Great movie. I love the whole "vibe" of this film - makes me want to take a road trip to wine country every time I watch it. And nobody writes sad, down on their luck characters like Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor.

[billythrilly7]

I agree. Much like I wanted to be a Top Gun pilot after seeing Top Gun or
a Green Beret after seeing Rambo or an "On The Edge Cop who doesn't play by the Rules" after seeing Cobra or a Bounty Hunter after seeing Midnight Run or a kid who gets detetention after seeing Breakfast Club or a drug kingpin after seeing Scarface, I wanted to learn all about wine after seeing Sideways.

Luckily all of those things fade. Because if they didn't I'd be a former Top Gun pilot who went into the Green Berets who then became a cop after leaving the service, but I lost my cop job because I couldn't play by the rules and was using to much Green Beret stuff so now I'm working as a bounty hunter to make ends meet and I screw up, ending up in a detention center and while in there I make some "connections" and I decide that I'd be better off using all of my law enforcement knowledge to open up a drug ring, when I get out, and while the world is mine, I'd be learning about wine and I just don't have the time for all of that right now.

[cluckyburger]

Excellent writing, average directing. Good movie overall.

i think it's pretty damn fine directing actually. payne is not a look-at-me director. i've seen this the past couple nights on hbo and every time i see something new. the most telling line: "could I get a barely legal?...actually, could I get the new one?". awesome

[Salazkin]

I loved it too. It's the brand of comedy that I really enjoy and which, unfortunately, there's far too little of these days.

I'm surprised by how many people I know who didn't like this movie, though. And for many it was their objection to Jack's infidelity and the "message" it sends, etc. It goes to the old argument - is it promoting a behavior or simply reflecting life? To me the answer is not always the same, but in this case it's definitely just reflecting life. I had a couple friends just like Jack, and I could see them in him. And though I'd like to tumble with about a quarter of all adult, non-senior women who walk the earth, Jack's behavior did not in any way incline me to devalue the importance of commitment and faithfulness (no more than it already HAS been, anyway).

[Pencey]

I'm surprised by how many people I know who didn't like this movie, though. And for many it was their objection to Jack's infidelity and the "message" it sends, etc.

Sounds like female rheteric to me...

[roscoegino]

I'm surprised by how many people I know who didn't like this movie, though. And for many it was their objection to Jack's infidelity and the "message" it sends, etc.




I can see that. But those who believe that, must realize that Miles never excused Jack's behavior. What he did (getting back the ring, I believe) he did as a friend, not as a participant or accomplice and not with the same motive. You could tell in Miles' face that the marraige may not last. That's Jack's responsibility, not his.

[kintnerboy]

I loved it too. It's the brand of comedy that I really enjoy and which, unfortunately, there's far too little of these days.

I'm surprised by how many people I know who didn't like this movie, though. And for many it was their objection to Jack's infidelity and the "message" it sends, etc. It goes to the old argument - is it promoting a behavior or simply reflecting life? To me the answer is not always the same, but in this case it's definitely just reflecting life. I had a couple friends just like Jack, and I could see them in him. And though I'd like to tumble with about a quarter of all adult, non-senior women who walk the earth, Jack's behavior did not in any way incline me to devalue the importance of commitment and faithfulness (no more than it already HAS been, anyway).


I know lots of people who didn't like this. Which only shows that movies are not for everyone (or at least that some people are thinkers and some are just passive types who just need their boredom amused).

This movie is not about infidelity. It is about the difference between people who live their lives in the present tense, which can be fun and spontaneous and worry-free, but can lead to unforseen consequences and a lack of anything substantive, and people who live in the future, so preoccupied with anxiety and worry that they never really do the things they want to.

It's a shame that some people get so hung up on morality in art that they never really get at what's meaningful.

[Hairy Lime]

It's a shame that some people get so hung up on morality in art that they never really get at what's meaningful.Excellent point, kintner. Shakespeare put all kinds of immorality in his plays. Same for Dostoyevsky's novels. Hemingway too. Yet if you put immoral subjects in modern drama, you get criticized by some regardless of what your true theme is. Ah well. Hopefully most people can appreciate it.

[billythrilly7]

Me and you, Hairy.

One day, let's go on a wine tasting road trip together and pick up local chicks.

Whataya say?

Although I hate wine.

Maybe we should go on a Champagne tasting trip. But for that we'd probably have to go to France. And that's out of the question.

Oh well, it was a nice thought.

[Salazkin]

Yet if you put immoral subjects in modern drama, you get criticized by some regardless of what your true theme is. Ah well. Hopefully most people can appreciate it.Most people are Philistines, Hairy. But with an adult population of about 200 million domestically, the audience for films like Sideways can fortunately still be quite sizable.

[Salazkin]

Maybe we should go on a Champagne tasting trip. But for that we'd probably have to go to France. And that's out of the question.
You could go on a "Sparkling Wine" tasting trip, Billy. Then you wouldn't have to leave the comforts of the motherland.

[billythrilly7]

You could go on a "Sparkling Wine" tasting trip, Billy. Then you wouldn't have to leave the comforts of the motherland.

Sparkling wine? Interesting.

It's probably better I go with you, Sal.

Me and Hairy would be fighting the whole trip.

I'm not up for that.

I want a nice relaxing trip. Some laughs. Some chicks.

Good clean fun.

[Salazkin]

I'm in! :smokin:

[Pandoraisme]

I really liked this movie. If I were a man, I would have loved it.

TINY SPOILER

The infidelity didn't bother me. The dividing line between like and love for me was based on the scene where Miles rips off his mother. From my perspective, it's not the morality issuses that I have to hurdle, it's the emotional.

As a woman, I've been asked to set aside any universal emotional harm these character traits may have caused me or my sisters personally. No problem. I'm a big girl. I can separate mind from heart.

So I'm rooting for two characters that I pray never procreate...

and Miles kicks me in the gut by ripping off a mother who would give him the shirt off her back in a snowstorm. Oh oh. I'm a mother. I'm not stumbling over the reality or immorality of it all... I'm floundering with the emotion it envokes in me. Of course I am. I was just stabbed in the heart, from the back, by some whiny little brat I've busted my ass for. lol.

Emotionally, as a woman and a mother, IMHO I think the degree of difficulty was higher for me to love this movie...

Intellectually, I liked it a lot. Two thumbs up.

[BottomlessCup]

Miles ripping off his mom was where I knew I was gonna love the movie.

Any filmmaker with the stones to make his protag look like a totally pathetic sh!tbag in the first ten minutes gets my full attention.

[billythrilly7]

I really liked this movie. If I were a man, I would have loved it.

TINY SPOILER

The infidelity didn't bother me. The dividing line between like and love for me was based on the scene where Miles rips off his mother. From my perspective, it's not the morality issuses that I have to hurdle, it's the emotional.

As a woman, I've been asked to set aside any universal emotional harm these character traits may have caused me or my sisters personally. No problem. I'm a big girl. I can separate mind from heart.

So I'm rooting for two characters that I pray never procreate...

and Miles kicks me in the gut by ripping off a mother who would give him the shirt off her back in a snowstorm. Oh oh. I'm a mother. I'm not stumbling over the reality or immorality of it all... I'm floundering with the emotion it envokes in me. Of course I am. I was just stabbed in the heart, from the back, by some whiny little brat I've busted my ass for. lol.

Emotionally, as a woman and a mother, IMHO I think the degree of difficulty was higher for me to love this movie...

Intellectually, I liked it a lot. Two thumbs up.

As a woman, I'm offended by this post.

[LadyLuxor]

Miles ripping off his mom was where I knew I was gonna love the movie.

Any filmmaker with the stones to make his protag look like a totally pathetic sh!tbag in the first ten minutes gets my full attention.

Well put, Bottomlesscup!

I also loved the part where Stephanie hauled off and beat the crap out of Jack with that motorcycle helmet....and the next scene is Jack talking through a bloody towel..

I still laugh my head off at that part......

[Pencey]

Miles ripping off his mom was where I knew I was gonna love the movie.


Me too. Even though I wouldn't take $500 from my mother, I could really relate to Miles in that scene.

In fact, it was one of my favorite scenes because it was pathetic but at the same time it made the character seem so real. I knew at that point the writer was giving us a protag that wasn't perfect and maybe felt cheated by life. So he was gonna take what he needed to survive by doing whatever he had to do, as dispicable as the act may seem.