Sideways

Sideways (Director: Alexander Payne)

SIDEWAYS is the 2004 Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay (Payne, Jim Taylor)

Payne, along with partner Jim Taylor, have made three other movies that all have garnered critical acclaim. The first was Citizen Ruth in 1996, then one of my favorite movies of all time, Election, in 1999, and 2002's About Schmidt, while not perfect, contained one of the best final images in a film I've ever seen to go along with a solid movie.

With this movie comes some baggage of "best reviewed film of the year," which I can't stand at all going into a film I haven't seen. I can say, without a doubt, it deserves this acclaim. It is one of the best of the year, and everyone here gives performances that are among the best.

The great Paul Giamatti plays Miles, a recently divorced high school teacher and fledgling writer, whose big hobby is wine-tasting. He and friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, of "Wings" fame) are about to embark on a one-week trip through California's vine country to sip wines and play golf. Jack, an out-of-work actor who is going to be married at the end of the week, sees this trip as a bachelor's last chance to do everything. Along the way, they meet other wine connoisseurs Maya (the sorely underused, for the past twenty or so years, Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (the fab Sandra Oh) as respective love interests. Jack has no problem sealing the deal with Stephanie, but Miles, held back through years of disappointment, can't quite seem to make the right move at the right time for Maya.

There are several great things going on in this movie. First off, Thomas Haden Church, always a scene-stealer, steals scenes from the usual culprit Giamatti. His character is completely controlled by the forces of his id, and it leads to very funny situations and great scenes where they play off of each other. In the trailer, there's the "nailed it" moment where Jack says, "We're going in there, and we'll drink merlot if they order it," to which Miles returns, "I'm going in there, but I will not drink fuckin' merlot!" There's several of these scenes here. What an oddball casting pair, and how perfect it is.

Let me add, though, that while Church steals scenes, Giamatti is quietly making a run with the movie itself. It's sort of the neat trick that Tom Cruise pulls off in Rain Man, as Dustin Hoffman commands the attention, it's still Cruise's movie. This is done on a much smaller scale, but it's the same principle.

Alexander Payne's (along with Jim Taylor's) specialty is making situations real but entertaining. His characters are usually "uglied down," meaning there's no Scarlett Johansson types walking around. His characters are often flawed to the point of being unable to attain their goals. Scenes are constructed with minimal buildup, meaning when someone says or does something, it's not accompanied by over-the-top direction, editing, and music. His matter-of-fact approach often leads to some actually shocking scenes (If you have seen Election, there's the part where Matthew Broderick's friend is introduced, and his first line introduces you to the fact that this is no PG-13 teen flick). But Payne's strength lies in making everything comfortable and familiar while exploring his characters, and those characters are simply trying to figure out the right thing to do, and they may do the wrong thing, and in fact, they usually do the wrong thing, which is why Payne's films are so genuine and good.

Paul Giamatti shows why he's one of the best actors working today, as he plainly proved in his breakout performance in Private Parts. Years of character work led to American Splendor, which showed he could carry a small film on his shoulders. I don't think he'll ever be a marketable big name, but why would we want him to be? Thomas Haden Church, who I watched mostly on the short-lived, but funny, series "Ned and Stacey" may be in line to resurrect his career. Virginia Madsen, a beautiful over-40 actress, may be in line to do the same thing after years of subpar roles where you knew something great could exist if it was allowed. And Sandra Oh will always be a great choice to play any character. Here are four actors who you'd never expect to see as the main body of the film, and the fact that it succeeds so well should stick it into the face of those mega-star vehicles that are littered with an ego-driven cast all vying for the most camera time.

Sideways is definitely in my top 5 of the year so far. I was thoroughly into this movie from beginning to end. Just go see it.