Sideways: A diamond in the rough

Sideways; 2:07; R, for language, some strong sexual content, and nudity; Grade: A+

Sideways—available on DVD today—is a true rarity. First of all, it’s a comedy that is funny because it rings so true. Like a Bill Cosby standup routine, we laugh with nodding approval, thinking things like “yes, I do that, too,” or “that’s just like my friend.” This comedy is not built on outrageous situations or pies-in-faces. It stands firmly on the grounds of human frailty, and how funny it can really be.

Secondly, it’s even more a diamond in the rough for the fact that it grabs you by making you laugh, then when you least expect it, moves you to that warm and fuzzy place where your throat gets easily choked up. Finally, it makes you laugh some more, and by the time the credits role, you feel refreshed, recharged, and more enthused than ever before. That’s how I felt, anyway, and perhaps I can only speak for myself.

I do know I’m not alone, though. From the smallest critics with the quietest voices, to the most influential of them all (Mr. Ebert, of course), Sideways is almost unanimously praised as one of the most thoroughly enjoyable movies, more so than any film of 2004, including Best Picture Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby. We can’t all be wrong, can we?

Sideways features some very strong performances from four talented B-list actors. Virginia Madsen and Thomas Haden Church both earned Oscar nominations, and many people felt that the star, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Big Fat Liar) was wronged, left off the list for Oscar consideration.

In Sideways, Giamatti is Miles, a middle-aged aspiring author with a crumbling day-job, a bitter divorce he can’t get past, and a passion for wine that crosses far beyond the border into alcoholism. To send his college buddy and best friend, Jack (Church), off to marriage, he takes him on a tour through wine county, northern California. Miles wants to sip good wine. Jack just wants to sow his wild oats, one last time, and needs Miles to lose the sour attitude and play wingman.

Miles gets his wine, Jack finds some tail to chase, and in the process, Miles finally makes his move on the waitress (Madsen) he’s been eyeballing for what has felt to him like an eternity. Playing the lead romantic role, opposite Giamatti, Madsen is so real that it almost feels like you could reach out and touch her. Her tender delivery of the famous wine-analogy speech (you’ll recognize it) virtually assured her of the Oscar consideration by itself.

While the acting is all quite fine, though, the biggest applause goes to screenwriting partners Alexander Payne (who also directed) and Jim Taylor. This duo has had great results before, with About Schmitd, Election, and Citizen Ruth, and Sideways is their best effort yet. It is no surprise to anyone who’s seen Sideways that they won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (for the record, I gave it my pretend-vote, but didn’t predict it).

The thing that makes this screenplay so great is its level of believability. In everything they do and say, these are real people we’re watching. We know them. We love them. We want them to be happy. This is the quality that makes Sideways so endearing, and the main reason why I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody who’s lived a little, and endured the hardships of life. And I guess that would be everybody.

Speaking of Oscar nominations…

After visiting Hollywood Theater to watch Million Dollar Baby, then renting Sideways, there are a few other recent DVD releases you might want to look into, with plenty of Oscar nods between them.

Annette Bening and Imelda Staunton both were considered for Best Actress for their roles in Being Julia and Vera Drake, respectively, while Clive Owen was considered for Best Supporting Actor in Closer. Of those three, I’d recommend Vera Drake.

First, you might want to check out Finding Neverland, the touching (yet sort-of sugar-coated) story that inspired author James Mathew Barrie to write Peter Pan. Finding Neverland was considered for all sorts of Oscars, most notably for Best Picture and Best Actor (Johnny Depp).