Sideways

Sideways is a little movie about two middle-aged men on a road trip in California. It's a gem that's garnering rave reviews and plenty of fans. It doesn't feature special effects, big-name actors, or a car chase (though there are some interesting scenes with a car). The lead actor is short, slightly rounded, and balding; none of the women are nubile young things (although Sandra Oh has the body of one); but the film is wonderfully written and the characters painfully real.

The two guys are miserable characters. Miles is miserable and Jack does miserable things. Jack is a faded actor about to be married and Miles is a failed writer waiting to hear from his agent about his latest manuscript. The road trip is Miles's gift to Jack before he marries. At times, the characters aren't easy to like, but they come through in the end, either displaying genuine human frailty that we recognize in ourselves or the strength to unearth happiness even when the emotion becomes incredibly elusive.

Oh, there's also a terrific background of wine, wine estates, and wine bars. If you know your wines, if you love wines, watch this movie for the great conversations about wine.

Actors - Paul Giamatti (from American Splendor and Duets), Thomas Haden Church (the guy who plays the dour mechanic in that funny sitcom Wings), Virginia Madsen (from Electric Dreams), and Sandra Oh (well-known in her home country, Canada; the brown-nosing principal in Princess Diaries, and wife of Sideways's director, Alexander Payne).

Notes for me:
- Watched Sideways at State Theater on State Street.
- After the movie, Frank, Jake, Lim Jia, and I headed to South University for bubble tea and several rounds of Taboo.
- Teaming with a fellow Singaporean helps when playing Taboo. We can use Hokkien or Mandarin to say things.
- Someone should invent a Singaporean version of Taboo.
- Much to my embarrassment, I found it easier to use rather graphic language to describe words like "blow," "vibrate" etc. instead of using more PC and roundabout sentences.

Posted by Monoceros at December 22, 2004 4:55 PM