I've viewed this movie twice and just like the first time truly laughed out loud at the varying confusion within the two central characters. I also like the more serious and angrier moments they exchange in.

Jack is a typical nearing middle age man who can't leave behind his womanizing even long enough to stop himself from playing around a week before his wedding.

That's not the funny part, the dark humor in Jack's character is that everything is all about "him", despite saying he's trying to help his buddy Miles. Also, the humor comes from his ultimate downfall when he sleeps with one woman too many and it truly costs him in the end.

Miles on the other hand is a man at a loss to what his life is adding up too. He can't get anyone to publish his book,he's been divorced and depressed for two years and talks and deals in wine related topics and situations, instead of dealing with his life.

The humor in the character is that he still pals around with a guy like Jack and again, his wine fixation. Especially in the scene before he & Jack enter the restaurant and he says, "I'm not drinking no (bleep!) Merlot! Almost like a kid who doesn't like spinach!

The California Wine Country backdrop is the perfect setting because it's a statement of how beautiful we grow up thinking life is until we get hit with the ultimate realities.

Thomas Haden Church plays a sort of clueless man,in the sense that he doesn't see how his actions affect other people or even himself,as long as he gets his jollies.

Sandra Oh plays the unfortunate woman who falls for Jacks bull,thinking he's looking for something serious. (Of which he gave the overall impression saying he loves her). She gives Jack exactly what he deserves for playing with her feelings. That's "not" an easy role to play and is gut wrenching to watch.

Paul Giamatti plays a man who thought had a clue or at least all the answers to life, only to have a series of rugs pulled out from under him. I can only guess he stays friends with Jack because he really has no one else to turn too.

Enter Maya whom Miles has known just a waitress at the restaurant he eats at, when he travels north from San Diego. She's a wine devotee' too and recently divorced. Virginia Madsens performance is flawless here. She looks at Miles with longing eyes and you can actually feel what's going on between them. Despite Miles' hesitance.

Overall, it's not a "fall down funny" , all the time comedy.

This is not just a comedy but a serio-comic look at real life.

The reality is, there's plenty of grown men (and women) who are just like the characters presented here. Adults, still figuring out life when they thought they had it straight...which is why it's called "Sideways".

10 stars from me, hands down....or would that be glasses? (END)

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director Alexander Payne was the creative force behind one of my favorite films from the past couple of years with "About Schmidt". With "Sideways" he proves his insight into human nature was no fluke, but instead, an amazing gift. He captures many Hollywood stereotypes such as mid-life crisis, groom-to-be cold feet, post-divorce confidence crunch and the overall desire to be loved, or at least liked. What makes Payne's work so unique is his ability to deliver multiple messages, with brilliant comic twists, using little more than unlikeable lead characters and sizzling dialogue! Moral bankruptcy is at a peak in "Sideways" as one of our leads (the magnificent Paul Giamatti from "American Splendor" and "Man on the Moon") steals cash from his mother and the other (Thomas Haden Church from TV's "Wings") is on a mission to have his bachelor party last an entire week while claiming we just don't understand his plight. Also delivering a wonderful touch to the film is Sandra Oh (Diane Lane's pregnant buddy in "Under the Tuscan Sun"). Oh has very unique looks and mannerisms, but is terrific as one of Church's conquests. The soul and spirit of this film belongs to the drastically underrated Virginia Madsen (if you have never seen "The Hot Spot", make it priority viewing). Madsen (sister to cult favorite Michael Madsen of "Kill Bill" and "Reservoir Dogs" fame) literally jumps off the screen with her eyes and smile. Her character wants so much for a better life, but is strong enough to avoid her past mistakes. She is the one we root for. This is an excellent film and nice character study with a snappy jazz score. Payne has proved he should be considered among the best filmmakers of today - now could someone please help his film obtain better distribution!!!

"Sideways" is a film that critics love and it did well considering at the Oscars considering it has that independent film feel. As for me, I liked parts of it and disliked others and felt it was a very uneven film...one that is still worth seeing.

Miles and Jack (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church) are the most unlikely of friends...too unlikely actually. Miles is obsessive-compulsive and is obsessed with two things in particular...his ex-wife (he longs for her to return but she won't) and wine (he is an insufferable wine snob). Jack, on the other hand, is more devil-may-care...and also a real jerk. Although the pair are going on an outing to wine country before Jack's wedding, Jack is mostly concerned with getting laid....and NOT by his fiancee.

Along the way, the pair meet up with two women. Maya (Virginia Madsen) seems like a good match for Miles. She, too, adores wine and knows all the terminology and jargon that Miles adores. Stephanie (Sandra Oh) is very hot and VERY interested in Jack...but Jack uses her and never tells her he's about to get married.

As I mentioned, a lot of folks liked and even loved this film. As for me, I hated Jack a lot...and this made it tough to love the movie. He was a pig...a selfish and unlikable pig. Miles, despite overthinking everything and being a bit annoying, is still likable and you want to see him do well. So what becomes of these two unlikely friends? And what's with that car wreck?! See the film.

I think making Miles and Jack so different was problematic...as well as Jack being so unlikable. This is because throughout the movie, I kept thinking "these two NEVER would be friends in the real world"...and that's why I liked but certainly did not love the movie. It has many WONDERFUL moments and it's definitely different...but I just couldn't buy the friendship. I also couldn't see this being a comedy, as it is billed as being...it just wasn't funny...nor should it have been. Instead, I wish the film had focused only on Miles...who was a complex and interesting, though quite flawed, man.