Entre copas

Una pequeña película muy, muy agradable que no pretende ser una obra de arte y que, a pesar de toda su sofisticación, no rehúye el humor vulgar y seco. Llegas a conocer a la pareja de protagonistas tan personalmente que son tus amigos. Y vivirás con ellos tantos momentos cómicos y tristes de la vida real que saldrás del cine más satisfecho que después de cualquier otra película. Me sorprendió gratamente el nivel de humor, que en la etapa final (la cartera) me puso de rodillas. Lamento que la Academia ignorara la brillante interpretación de Paul Giamatti. Las mismas 4 fuertes estrellas como en el caso de Y tu mamá también. (11.02.2005)

Middle age crisis... and wine. A relaxed atmosphere... and wine. A week in the life of two former dormmates, one of whom is a far-from-successful writer, currently English teacher and wreck, and the other is a low-quality actor who appears in soaps and commercials... and wine. Excellent actors... and wine. A marvelously relaxed time surrounded by vineyards... and wine. A brilliant screenplay, seemingly about nothing, while in fact being about everything... and wine. An action finale in true buddy movie style? Not even in your dreams - instead we get a double portion of laid-back humor and... and wine. Sideways is an extremely, and I mean extremely, pleasant indie movie that will stay with you for a long while after. By the way, did I mention that this is also about grapes... and wine? (21.06.2007)

As a marketing tool, the Oscar Award is ideal, but as the ultimate measure of film quality, it is definitely not. Sideways had the potential to outshine precisely executed but overly ambitious projects like The Aviator and the award-winning Million Dollar Baby. This was the film that had the power to make that universally accepted standard of quality fall into its hands. But it was too small, fundamentally too ordinary, and at first glance, it went, quite fittingly to its name, too sideways. The screenwriting duo of Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor took the most stereotypical route to the theme of a bachelor party. The move, which is not at all abnormal in a time when there is nothing else to do but revamp the old and give it a stamp of novelty and originality, is slightly risky from Payne and Taylor, but it paid off many times over. At least those two won an Oscar for it. Perhaps it was the desire of the screenwriters to cram something new, unconventional, and especially atypical into the film, or a deliberately aimed symbol in which the tragicomic fate of the film's characters could be reflected. Wine, for an American, is probably as natural a drink as Kentucky whiskey is for a Frenchman. And yet, in the film, wine tasting seems perfectly natural, as if it were an everyday affair for every American. It smells pleasant, a little sour to taste, then comes the sharp taste of alcohol, and when you drink too much, it can give you a headache. "In vino veritas" and Sideways is like the wine. The long search for love, and yet it's not a romance, plenty of humorous situations, and yet it's not a comedy. Besides good ideas, Sideways also respectfully borrows from every genre a certain amount of perspective, from which you can see just enough for a happy-looking ending, depending on who you ask, it must be added. Moreover, "Payne the director" is a completely different person than "Payne the writer." He carefully avoids all the pitfalls of the genres from which he respectfully borrowed and doesn't burden the viewer with conversational boredom or indulge in jumping from one gag to another, and heaven forbid, playing on a romantic string. Payne sticks to everything in moderation, but not in an awkward way. Also, all established Hollywood stars should respectfully kneel in front of the performances delivered by the central quartet in this film. And for Thomas Haden Church to lose in an Oscar race to a standard-issue Morgan Freeman? He really didn't deserve that. Sideways not winning (I deliberately don't want to use the word "losing") the Oscar may not be the harshest crime of the Academy, but it will definitely take me a while to accept it. (21.06.2005)

This film is like wine, but not you drink it out of a carton like a bum in front of the supermarket, but like, for example, Richebourg vintage ´61 in a nice place, with light notes of jazz in the background and an attractive lady across the table. The label "comedy" is misleading, this is not a film that would elicit volleys of laughter from start to finish, but very pleasantly flowing entertainment with polished dialogue and wonderful actors. Just my cup of tea. The Oscar for screenplay is very well deserved, and as for Giamatti, it's called a 'role of a lifetime'. (09.01.2008)

Sideburns certainly do not belong to those movies that captivate the viewer at first sight, and appeal to all movie fans indiscriminately. It is such an inconspicuous, but nice conversation, an ordinary movie about average people experiencing a midlife crisis. No one can expect a flurry of cult lines or a flood of crazy gags. It is a film about the search for love and friendship, which is based on an intelligent screenplay and the character acting of quality actors. Among the cast, Virginia Madsen in the role of waitress May stands out. Overall impression: 75%. (27.05.2007)