Friday, November 19, 2004 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Sideways'

A Vine Mess: 'Sideways,' the tale of a week of bad decisions in wine country, proves downright transcendent

On a fateful road trip, wine connoisseur Miles (Paul Giamatti), left, and his pal Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a less discriminating taster, check out a California winery's latest vintage in "Sideways."

A lot of movies -- like a lot of people -- approach life head-on.

But, as the aptly titled "Sideways" sidles into view, you may be struck by how surprisingly direct a roundabout route can be. At least when it comes to touching the heart -- and stimulating the brain.

"Sideways" is hardly the kind of in-your-face, effects-laden thrill ride that all too often passes for cinematic diversion these days.

Yet, in its own quiet way, "Sideways" offers an abundance of cinematic thrills -- especially in its clear-sighted but generous view of human nature.

Of course, director Alexander Payne -- and screenwriting partner Jim Taylor -- have been down this particular road before, most notably in 1999's scathingly satirical "Election" and 2002's somewhat mellower "About Schmidt."

Echoing the latter, "Sideways" focuses on yet another lost soul living a life of quiet desperation. That is, until an eye-opener of a road trip shows him a possible escape route -- assuming he's got enough get-up-and-go to seize the day, and the life, awaiting him at the end of the road.

"About Schmidt's" resident lost soul was retired Omaha insurance executive Warren Schmidt, indelibly embodied by Jack Nicholson. In "Sideways," he's Miles Raymond ("American Splendor's" equally indelible Paul Giamatti), a living, breathing monument to mid-life crisis.

Still recovering from a traumatic divorce -- assuming recovery is even possible -- Miles is a novelist. Or, more precisely, he's a middle school English teacher waiting for someone, anyone, to publish his latest literary effort.

During the fateful week that "Sideways" takes place, however, Miles has another role: boon companion and partner-in-crime.

He's hitting the road with his old pal Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a fading-fast actor -- he used to be a soap star, now he does voice-overs for TV commercials -- who's getting married in a week. But not before he and Miles hit California's Santa Ynez Valley for some wine, women and golf.

Miles is the wine expert. ("Quaffable but hardly transcendent," he opines after sampling a winery's finest vintage.) Jack's the winner with women -- and plans to prove it by scoring with as many of them as possible before his impending wedding.

Headquartered in a tourist-trap motel in the faux-Danish town of Solvang (a place sufficiently tacky as to make Las Vegas resemble Versailles), Miles and Jack make the rounds of Miles' favorite wineries and hangouts, notably a restaurant that features its own wine line.

At least the big attraction for Miles used to be the wine; on this trip, it might be Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress who -- like Miles -- has been scarred not only by divorce but by the slings and arrows of existence that thoughtful, sensitive types just can't seem to dodge.

They may be kindred spirits -- as Miles would put it, delicate Pinot Noirs in a world of hearty Cabernets -- but they're also bruised and reluctant. (And let's not forget Miles' impressive ability to get -- and stay -- in his own way.)

Jack, of course, has no time or interest in such soul-searching. He's too busy proving his arrested adolescence -- and exchanging precious bodily fluids -- with saucy Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a single mother who works as a pourer at a local winery and embraces his what-the-hell attitude with equal abandon.

The progress of these pilgrim pals -- one whose all-too-logical mind governs his actions, the other in thrall to a different and far less logical anatomical imperative -- inspires a comedy of deep yet sparkling complexity. (If only Miles could find a wine worthy of such praise.)

Adapting Rex Pickett's novel, screenwriters Payne and Taylor ably blend and balance edgy, antic comedy and rueful human observation. As a result, "Sideways" carries the undeniable tang of the real world slapping Miles -- and, by extension, us -- in the face. One minute Miles and Maya are discussing wine -- and, metaphorically, their mutual struggle to take root in the hardly hospitable soil of modern society. The next, Miles is debasing himself yet again, trying to extricate Jack from another fine mess, vowing he'll never do it again -- and knowing full well that he will.

As a director, Payne has an eye for telling detail, whether it's a bucolic vineyard or a crass theme restaurant. And his crackerjack sense of pacing stretches to encompass extended slapstick absurdity, sobering drama and those quicksilver moments that skitter between the two.

Most of all, Payne keys "Sideways" to the idiosyncratic but irresistible talents of his starring quartet, from Oh's sly sensitivity to Church's bruised, almost used-up bravado.

Madsen, meanwhile, breaks free of the sexpot stereotype she's been trapped in for years, creating a character who's not only sexy but smart and sad and willing to give herself, not to mention Miles, the benefit of the doubt.

Yet, wonderful as they are -- and they are indeed -- "Sideways" belongs, in every sense of the word, to Giamatti.

Those who saw "American Splendor" -- heck, even those who saw him as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton in "Private Parts" -- know what a world-class crank Giamatti can be onscreen. But, as "American Splendor" proved and "Sideways" triumphantly confirms, Giamatti also happens to be an actor of supreme subtlety and nuance, capable of conveying a world of emotion through a lilting tilt of an eyebrow or the rueful resignation he brings to Miles' realization that, when it comes to his place in the world, he's "a fingerprint on a skyscraper."

Like every fingerprint, however, he's unique. And so is the movie that celebrates his spirit. Much more than quaffable, "Sideways" proves downright transcendent.