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Driving Sideways

Jason suggested we watch Sideways last night. Previously, I showed some interest in the film becuase Paul Giamatti is in it and it's about men suffering midlife crises. However, I wasn't so sure about the film's prevalent theme of wine tasting. I'm not a fan of wine because I don't like the taste of wine. Plus, I didn't think I could relate to the "culture" of wine tasting.

Wine grievances aside, I really dug Sideways.

Just about 45 minutes into the movie, I couldn't help but notice the similarities to Swingers. I'm not knocking Sideways here; Sideways is not some cheap imitation of Swingers. Both flicks include guys that get out of town to think about their lives. They are emotionally tangled up in blue, but for different reasons. As a fan of Swingers, I enjoyed Sideways as much.

The themes of male-bonding and moving on are very relatable, even though the Miles and Jack characters are much older than I am. I could relate to the Miles character the most: he has a passion for something and focuses more on that passion than dealing with his emotional hang-ups. Giamatti nails the sadness of the character without making the audience get out the smallest violin in the world.

Though I couldn't really relate to the character of Jack, I thought Thomas Haden Church was fantastic. Goofy, serious and versatile, I really dug this performance.

Overall, Sideways really impressed me, but it made me think really hard about my own life and my emotional hang-ups. I wasn't planning on walking the dog after watching the movie, but I had to after the movie was over.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I just had the exact same conversation with someone re: sideways and swingers. The men who cannot commit /rightfully scare the shit out of women, but they overcome, and get the girl somehow...the romance of failing... yeah. totes.
6:28 PM
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