Product Description

ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY WINNER OF 2 GOLDEN GLOBES, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE (COMEDY / MUSICAL)

In this intoxicating, intelligent comedy, director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) serves up "one of the best movies of the year" (Entertainment Weekly) about the ups, downs and sideways journeys of life. A wine-tasting road trip through California's famed Central Coast takes an unexpected detour as Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) hit the gas en route to their mid-life crisis. The comically mismatched pair soon find themselves drowning in wine, women... and laughter!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6820 in DVD
• Brand: GIAMATTI,PAUL
• Released on: 2005-04-05
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Armenian, English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .30 pounds
• Running time: 126 minutes

Amazon.com
With Sideways, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Storytelling) has become an unlikely but engaging romantic lead. Struggling novelist and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, Wings) on a wine-tasting tour of California vineyards for a kind of extended bachelor party. Almost immediately, Jack's insatiable need to sow some wild oats before his marriage leads them in into double-dates with a rambunctious wine pourer (Sandra Oh, Under the Tuscan Sun) and a recently divorce waitress (Virginia Madsen, The Hot Spot)--and Miles discovers a little hope that he hasn't let himself feel in a long time. Sideways is a modest but finely tuned film; with gentle compassion, it explores the failures, struggles, and lowered expectations of mid-life. Giamatti makes regret and self-loathing sympathetic, almost sweet. From the director of Election and About Schmidt. --Bret Fetzer

On the DVD
Stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church have an absolute blast on their commentary track, gleefully ripping themselves, fawning over "La Madsen," and recalling "that bad fake wine we had to drink a lot of." Director Alexander Payne dismisses the seven deleted scenes (about 17 minutes total) as "meager offerings," and it's true that there are no gems. But even better than the scenes themselves might be Payne's text introductions, which offer insight into his editing process. Each scene is surrounded by brief bits from the finished film to provide context, which should be done more often. The 6-minute making-of featurette is better than most because it spends less time on self-promotion and plot summary. --David Horiuchi

Stills from Sideways (Click for larger image)

From The New Yorker
Paul Giamatti has no chin to speak of, a round-shouldered physique, and the nervous smile of a craven dog. He's the anti-ideal of the American male, and he's making a brilliant career of it. In this wonderful new movie by the team of Alexander Payne (writer-director) and Jim Taylor (co-writer), Giamatti plays Miles, a failed novelist around forty who takes off for a wine-tasting tour with his buddy Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a washed-up TV actor who is about to get married. What starts as a last fling at freedom becomes for the two men-but centrally for Miles-a confrontation with middle age and stasis. Miles is a bibliophile, a cinephile, and an oenophile. Jack, however, couldn't care less-in every way, he's blissfully undiscriminating. On the road, the men meet Maya (Virginia Madsen), a divorced graduate student who works as a waitress, and Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a sexy "pour girl." The music and the camera setups are at times pedestrian, but the rest of "Sideways" is vivid and bitterly funny. A comedy poised on the edge of despair, the picture asks the question: How do you stop moving sideways? Or, more metaphorically: Won't a Cheval Blanc '61, if left too long on the shelf, begin to lose its savor? -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

A quirky comedy
I am not terribly familiar with Alexander Payne's work other than the hilarious "Election". I wanted to see what all the hubbub was all about "Sideways". I have been hearing nothing but glowing reviews of the film so I thought it was worth seeing this afternoon. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church (of "Wings" and "Ned and Stacy" fame) are college buddies Miles and Jack, who decided to go on a road trip through California's wine country as a last hurrah for Jack's impending nuptials. Miles is a divorced, depressed english teacher who is also an aspiring writer. Jack is a washed up actor who has all the maturity of a dust bunny and still acts like he was still a teenager, and really isn't marriage material. Along the way, Miles and Jack meet up with Mya (Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (Sandra Oh, Alexander's wife). There is an immediate connection between the men and the women. With Miles, he is more shy and reluctant but somehow uses his knowledge and love for wine as subtle hints for Mya telling her that he is interested in her. Jack and Stephanie hits it off immediately. Although I have an immense aversion to romantic comedies, I thought "Sideways" wasn't your typical romantic comedy. If you think about it, Miles and Jack aren't really likeable but they really aren't despicable characters either. Miles is very self-absorbed and always finds ways to kill the mood while Jack is immature and doesn't consider the consequences of his actions. The dialogue was witty and engaging, especially when Miles is talking about wine. I really enjoyed Sandra Oh's performance in the film. I thought she was a delight to watch. It is really rare nowadays to see a leading Asian actress in a movie , especially a movie that is as engrossing and hilarious to watch. I was surprised to see Virginia Madsen put in a terrific performance considering some of her past work has been some really cheesy Lifetime tv movies. One of my favorite scenes is when Miles retrieves Jack's wallet towards the end of the trip. That was laugh out loud funny. I also loved it when Miles and Jack create an excuse for why Jack's nose is broken. "Sideways" is one of the few films that definitely lives up to the hype. Definitely one of the best comedies of this year.

What's wrong with me then for liking this?
I realize this movie has come and gone but over the last year I've really grown to love it and after reading some of the reviews that this movie was so poor I felt compelled to give my opinion.

First, what's with the "boring" film thing, if you want exciting I don't know, rent something that's supposed to be exciting with explosions and Bruce Willis. Or if you find it morally ambiguous, consider what movies the director traditionally makes, Election, About Schmidt, these are somewhat dark, slow, depressing movies, rent something with Larry The Cable Guy if that's your thing; point is a little research prevents bad movie choices.

At 28 what I like about this movie is that it recognizes that life is messy and complicated. Considering my limited life experience I recognize that getting older doesn't automatically make someone perfect, responsible, and ethical. Cheating on spouses is not for me, but I've known couples (one of which many would describe as a good couple) who've cheated on each other. I'm not saying this is right but the point is I think people should be able to see some aspects of this story that are similar to their lives. Have you ever had a hard time getting over someone, or has one of your friends??? Ever know anyone who's unable to admit about a problem or won't admit they are in a rut?? I think lots of people feel like this, including myself; the point is there are those moments that give you hope. I'm speaking specifically about Miles in this movie, at one point in time he was much better, (though weak, he did cheat on his wife) Jack describes an entirely cheerier person. Miles reluctantly goes on this trip and is almost literally forced to recognize Mia as prospective relationship; this is ultimately positive, a reminder that opportunities for happiness are all around us if we choose to acknowledge that we are unhappy, in ruts, and are brave enough to follow them out. I know Miles does some despicable things, but somewhere he knows there is a person he wishes he could be, someone who does not just settle down, have a family, and eventually be married 50 years to their fat friend who they argue with constantly and live in there own worlds of denial. I feel I have hope for people in general; I look at the characters in the movie and think they want to be happy and hopefully they deal with the problems in their life.

4 1/2! I Loved this movie but it isn't for everyone
"Sideways" based on the novel "Sideways: A Novel" by Rex Pickett. Directed by Alexander Payne.

Miles (Paul Giamatti) is the guy that just can't seem to win. He is something of a middle aged Charlie Brown. He is in what appears to be an unfulfilling career as a school teacher and he has recently gotten divorced. Miles last hope for redemption in life is that his novel will get published which is currently being shopped around by his agent. Miles can't worry about that now though because his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is about to get married and Miles plans to take Jack out to wine country as a sort of one on one bachelor party. Miles has plans of a week long low key male bonding trip but Jack has different plans. Jack envisions a week of chasing women and cutting loose and the contrasting bachelor party ideas collide as the two head out to wine country...

"Sideways" is not for everyone but I loved this movie. Although classified as a comedy I think of this as more of a character examination movie. Sideways is a character driven movie and is primarily about Miles as he attempts to deal with the shambles he feels his life has become while at the same time trying to be a gracious host to Jack as Jack stomps all over Miles plans for their week in wine Country. As you watch you see Miles go through an emotional roller coaster ride as he deals with Jack who is almost his polar opposite, tries to get over his ex wife and looks for something positive to hope for in the future as he indulges in the last thing he truly enjoys which is drinking good wine.

The Good: The acting all around was great. Paul Giamatti was absolutely perfect for the Miles character and Thomas Haden Church was a perfect to play off of Gimatti's Miles and the character dynamic between the 2 was great. You can't help but to pull for Miles as runs into one pitfall after another usually created by Jack.

The score for this movie was superbly done. The music perfectly accents Miles and his moods and feelings. With the combination of Gimatti's acting and the score I felt like I knew exactly what was going on in Miles' head.

The Bad: Nothing memorable.

Overall: This is not for everyone so be warned. This is not an overtly funny movie even though it is labeled as a comedy. If you want to watch a movie about interesting characters and don't require big explosions or slap stick comedy then pick up Sideways and give it a try.