Review of Sideways (2004) by Matt H — 31 Mar 2012

No matter which way you look at it, it's still boring.

I know, I know, this film got critical acclaim, and was praised as a great drama. Let them say whatever they want to, I was bored throughout the vast majority of it.

The Story: Two men go on a week long road trip through wine country. One man, an actor a week from getting married, and the other, a failed writer, struggling to find a publisher for his novel. It's got some good cinematography, but this is an "intelletual" mans comedy/drama. I must not be as intellectual as everyone else who loved this. Two hours of my life spent on this, the first hour was just a bore as the characters set out on their trip. It was time spent to explain to you that one man was an wine aficionado, and that one man only wanted sex. Why it took an hour to explain that is beyond me. The second hour was more or less the same, although it had more jokes and humour than the first.

The Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church...I love these two! Paul Giamatti proved in Man on the Moon, that he was a true actor with amazing talent, and proves it again right here. The failed writer with nothing but problems, has never seemed so real. Giamatti can crack his voice like he's on the verge of tears like no other, his performance is the saving grace of this otherwise boring film. Thomas Haden Church, of course some might remember him from Wings, where he was the goofy mechanic that everyone loved, others might not remember that...He does good here, although it's not a character that your used to seeing from him if all you've seen is old episodes of Wings or Ned and Stacey. Although he's been in other films, a lot of people just don't seem to know him. He's an actor deserving of more recognition. This great cast makes the film almost worth sitting through.

One to Five Scale: 3.

The second half is much better than the first half, although still a little boring. The film moves at a snails pace, it takes place over the course of a week, but it feels like an eternity. And despite the great acting, the characters aren't all that interesting... I don't know as if I would recommend buying this unless you're really into the intelectual humor. Rent it, or better yet just wait for it to show up in the TV listings.

Tyler.