This is an "R" rated movie, deservedly so. It is also a beautifully written, acted, and incisively "Human Comedy."
In a much less favorably reviewed film, "Shall We Dance" (American, not Japanese version) Susan Sarandon has some dialogue about the meaning of, or one of the meanings of marriage. "We validate each other, we validate each others lives." Not everyone builds the Taj Mahal.
And indeed, at last, the Miles character in "Sideways," so truly and deeply played by Paul Giamatti, finds validation. For me this was a lovely way in which two movies validated each other. In "Shall We Dance" everyone had energy and life they needed to express and there were commitments they chose not to break. Most people I saw leaving the theater were simply dancing down the aisles. And the soundtrack is a killer. Gee, sorry Richard Gere didn't break his marriage vows. He simply helped his life partner dance their marriage back to life. Good going for the movie, bad going for the uncommitted critics.
"Sideways" revolves around the adventures of two almost past prime time players who are having one last try at living it up, before they hit life's downslope. And, in the process, they evolve as naturally as a teenager goes from puberty to young adulthood, and as a young adult fights the journey from youth to middle age. So, if you enjoy wine, if you'd like a tour of the wine country around Solvang, if you need comedy in your life - some goofy, some complex, if a little male full frontal nudity doesn't bother you, if you want to hear powerful and, in some cases, almost poetic dialogue, if you enjoy rich and rounded characterizations from fine actors and if you'd like to see a movie you'll want to watch again and again, the only direction to go is "Sideways."
In a much less favorably reviewed film, "Shall We Dance" (American, not Japanese version) Susan Sarandon has some dialogue about the meaning of, or one of the meanings of marriage. "We validate each other, we validate each others lives." Not everyone builds the Taj Mahal.
And indeed, at last, the Miles character in "Sideways," so truly and deeply played by Paul Giamatti, finds validation. For me this was a lovely way in which two movies validated each other. In "Shall We Dance" everyone had energy and life they needed to express and there were commitments they chose not to break. Most people I saw leaving the theater were simply dancing down the aisles. And the soundtrack is a killer. Gee, sorry Richard Gere didn't break his marriage vows. He simply helped his life partner dance their marriage back to life. Good going for the movie, bad going for the uncommitted critics.
"Sideways" revolves around the adventures of two almost past prime time players who are having one last try at living it up, before they hit life's downslope. And, in the process, they evolve as naturally as a teenager goes from puberty to young adulthood, and as a young adult fights the journey from youth to middle age. So, if you enjoy wine, if you'd like a tour of the wine country around Solvang, if you need comedy in your life - some goofy, some complex, if a little male full frontal nudity doesn't bother you, if you want to hear powerful and, in some cases, almost poetic dialogue, if you enjoy rich and rounded characterizations from fine actors and if you'd like to see a movie you'll want to watch again and again, the only direction to go is "Sideways."