Sideways

(c) A.J. Malouin 2008
(Rating: 1 by Al)
Two seemingly failures-as-men take a last road trip together through California wine country the week before one of them is scheduled to get married. Excellent performances by Paul Giamatti as the failed novelist Miles, and by Thomas Haden Church as the fiancee Jack, who has a hard time keeping it in his pants. Excellent performances also by Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh, as the two women the road-trippers meet on their journey. A funny, touching movie that also has the side effect of making us want to learn more about wine-making, wine-tasting, and how humidity and sea air effect grape-growing. Al has seen it twice; Caryl has seen it once, and would quarrel with the “1” rating Al has given it…without giving it a rating of her own.