Dir.
Alexander Payne, 2004, USA, 123 min
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh
Pitched in with the Aviator's and the Million Dollar Baby's of the current award season is Sideways, an unassuming comedy from the pen and megaphone of Alexander Payne. He has already shown with Election and About Schmidt that he has a master's eye for smaller-than-life characters, and a feel for comedy that builds up slowly, then gets you right in the gut. Sideways is vintage Payne.
Miles Raymond, played by Paul Giamatti, is the kind of character who usually gets one scene in a movie; a shuffling schlemiel whose very face and body language make an apology for him being there. Miles is a 40-something teacher perpetually on the verge of publishing his first novel, frazzled with nerves when his agent calls, hopeless with relationships, but well meaning in his ineptitude. Into this shambles steps his old college buddy Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) who is a faded soap actor with good hair, and an incorrigible womaniser. Jack is getting married in seven days and Miles (his best man) is giving him a stag-week of a wine-tasting tour round the vineyards of California. Fuelled by their own faded hopes, and Miles' considerable knowledge of all things Sauvignon, this odd-couple have to contemplate the wine and the women, in this finely blended road movie.
Giamatti has a great face. He seems to squirm and itch, uncomfortable in his own skin, using his eyes to show his soused-up reactions to Jack's antics. The character Miles is almost an extension of his version of Howard Pekar in American Splendor. He is a likeable loser, the distant cousin of an early Woody Allen, without the self-conscious smarts. Miles drives the film on with his connoisseur antics and self-loathing. He is every intelligent 40-something with a passion in one area, who draws a blank when it comes to women and career.
There are some beautiful moments in Sideways when Miles tries to talk to Maya, a sassy waitress who knows her way around a wine cellar and likes him (Madsen). He's in his element with the wine-talk, but crashes hilariously when anything else comes into the conversation. But Miles is not without hope.
Thomas Haden Church, his partner in crime, is a former bit-part actor mostly known for his TV work in Wings. Church is absolutely on the money as the cocky Jack with his Californian demeanour. It's an original performance reminiscent of Jeff Bridges' laid back style. He brings out the flakiness of the character, whose acting career has faded, but who still thinks he's Warren Beatty. When he gets involved with a saucy Chinese American Stephanie, played by Sandra Oh, sparks really fly, and the end result is painful.
Sideways is an actor's movie. The two main characters, and the supporting female parts, are all written with intelligence and warmth, allowing the players each to have their moments. As in the directors' previous film, About Schmidt, the film benefits from a slow build up, allowing the characters to develop. Some of the biggest belly laughs are delivered in the third act of the picture, when the audience has been well and truly charmed by the bumbling double-act.
It's not just the quality of the writing and the performances, Sideways is out and out funny. Add to that, like some of the great foodie flicks, such as Big Night and Eat Drink Man Woman, you get the added detail on Californian wines. Like a barrel of the red stuff, its does take its time, which might be the only negative for some. But there simply hasn't been a finer comedy for adults in recent years.
Johnny Messias
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