Sideways is a 2004
comedy-drama filmComedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
written by
Jim TaylorJim Taylor is an American producer and screenwriter, best known as the writing partner of Alexander Payne. They are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007:Citizen Ruth ,...
and
Alexander PayneAlexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
and directed by Payne.
AdaptedFilm adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
from
Rex PickettRex Pickett is an American writer best known for his popular novel Sideways. Before publishing the book, he worked as a screenwriter and director in film.-Career:...
's
2004 novel of the same nameSideways is a 2004 novel by Rex Pickett.-Plot introduction:The novel is the story of two friends, Miles and Jack, who go away together for the last time to steep themselves in everything that makes it good to be young and single...
, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by
Paul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
and
Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
, who take a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara County Wine Country. Payne and Taylor won multiple awards for their screenplay. Giamatti and Church, as well as actresses
Virginia MadsenVirginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
and
Sandra OhSandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
, playing local women who become romantically involved with the men, all received accolades for their performances.
Sideways won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for four other awards.
Plot
Miles Raymond (
Paul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
) is an unsuccessful writer, a
wine-aficionadoOenophilia of wine ). An oenophile is a lover of wine. In the strictest sense, oenophilia describes a disciplined devotion to wine, accompanying strict traditions of consumption and appreciation. In a general sense however, oenophilia simply refers to the enjoyment of wine, often by laymen....
, and a depressed middle school English teacher living in San Diego, who takes his soon-to-be-married actor friend and college roommate, Jack Cole (
Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
), on a road trip through
Santa Ynez ValleyThe Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Valley is separated from the Los Alamos Valley, to the...
wine country. Miles wants to relax and live well. However, Jack wants one last sexual fling.
In the wine country, the men encounter Maya (
Virginia MadsenVirginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
), a waitress at Miles's favorite restaurant,
The Hitching PostThe Hitching Post and The Hitching Post II are upscale American sister steakhouse restaurants.-History:The original Hitching Post was founded in 1952 by The Ostini Family in Casmalia, California...
, and her friend, Stephanie (
Sandra OhSandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
), an employee at a local winery. They arrange a double date without revealing that Jack is to be married. Jack has an affair with Stephanie while Miles tries to connect with Maya.
Maya finds out Jack is to be married and tells Stephanie, who attacks Jack, breaking his nose. Miles gets drunk at a wine tasting room, and Jack links up with another woman. To explain the broken nose to his fiancée, Jack runs Miles's car into a tree. At the wedding, Miles faces the fact that his ex-wife will never return to him. Alone, he drinks his prized wine, a 1961
Château Cheval BlancChâteau Cheval Blanc , is a wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Its wine is one of only two to receive the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé status in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine of 1955, along with Château Ausone.The estate's second wine is...
. Later, he receives a message from Maya, who says she enjoyed his manuscript and invites him to visit. The last scene in the movie shows Miles back in Santa Ynez, knocking on Maya's door.
Cast
- Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
as Miles Raymond
- Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
as Jack Cole
- Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
as Maya Randall
- Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
as Stephanie
- Marylouise Burke as Phyllis Raymond
- Jessica Hecht
Jessica Hecht is an American actress, known for numerous Broadway appearances and TV roles.-Background:Hecht was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the daughter of Lenore, a psychotherapist, and Richard Hecht, a physicist. Jessica moved with her parents and her sister to Bloomfield, CT, at the age of...
as Victoria
- Stephanie Faracy
Stephanie Faracy is an American film and television actress.Faracy was born in Brooklyn, New York. One of her earliest notable roles was as Mary Carson's servant "Judy", in the 1983 television mini-series The Thorn Birds.Faracy also appeared with Frankie Faison and Nancy Walker in True Colors , a...
as Stephanie's mother
- Missy Doty
Missy Doty is an American actress. She grew up in Springdale, Ohio and graduated from Princeton High School in 1990. She also attended Stephens College where she received a BFA in Musical Theater.-Professional:...
as Cammi
- M.C. Gainey as Cammi's husband
- Alysia Reiner
Alysia Reiner is an American actress who has appeared in several award-winning films, television shows, and Off Broadway theatrical works.-Off Broadway:...
as Christine Erganian
- Shake Tukhmanyan as Mrs. Erganian
- Shaun Duke as Mike Erganian
Reception
Time Out London said the film was "intelligent, funny and moving," and the
Chicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, giving the film four stars, said, "what happens during the seven days adds up to the best human comedy of the year -- comedy, because it is funny, and human, because it is surprisingly moving." The review aggregator
MetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives Sideways a Metascore of 94%, signifying "universal [critical] acclaim." The movie also holds a rare 97% rating at
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with 206 positive reviews out of 213.
A
surprise hitA sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...
, Sideways became popular in Hollywood, the US and internationally. Santa Ynez Valley, where much of the film is set, attracted increased tourism. The film was nominated for dozens of awards, winning many, and was dubbed "the best reviewed movie of 2004." With the exception of Giamatti, who had already starred in critically acclaimed films such as
American SplendorAmerican Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
(2003), the film was a career breakthrough for the stars. Haden Church and Madsen were nominated for Oscars. Giamatti has since been headlined as "The World's Best
Character ActorA character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
" by Time Magazine. Giamatti was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance in
Cinderella ManCinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...
(2005). Sandra Oh, who has since broken up with the film's director, Alexander Payne, has gone on to star in
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
for which she won a Golden Globe and the
Screen Actors Guild AwardA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
. Church went on to play a prominent role in the blockbuster
Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007).
Sideways ranks 494th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.
Impact on wine industry
Throughout the film, Miles speaks fondly of the red wine
varietal"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
Pinot noirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, while denigrating
MerlotMerlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
. Following the film's U.S. release in October 2004, Merlot sales dropped 2% while Pinot noir sales increased 16% in the
Western United States.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. A similar trend occurred in British wine outlets. Sales of Merlot dropped after the film's release possibly due to Miles' disparaging remarks about the varietal in the film.
Awards and nominations
| List of Awards and Nominations |
Wins
Academy AwardsThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
:
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
and Jim TaylorJim Taylor is an American producer and screenwriter, best known as the writing partner of Alexander Payne. They are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007:Citizen Ruth ,...
)
BAFTA Awards:
- Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor)
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Best Screenplay
Gotham AwardsThe Gotham Awards is an annual ceremony of awards presented to the makers of independent films which takes place in New York City...
:
National Board of Review of Motion PicturesThe National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
:
- Top Ten Film of 2004
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Adapted Screenplay
IFP Independent Spirit Awards:
- Best Male Lead
- Best Supporting Male
- Best Supporting Female
- Best Screenplay
- Best Director
- Best Feature (won in all categories it was nominated for).
New York Film Critics Circle AwardsNew York Film Critics' Circle Awards are given annually to honor excellence in cinema worldwide by an organization of film reviewers from New York City-based publications. It is considered one of the most important precursors to the Academy Awards....
:
- Best Film
- Best Actor - Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
- Best Supporting Actress - Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
- Best Screenplay - Alexander Payne
Screen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Award:
- Best Ensemble (Paul Giamatti, Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
, Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
, and Virginia Madsen).
Nominations
Academy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
:
- Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- Best Director (Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
)
- Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
)
- Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Virginia MadsenVirginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
)
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical or Comedy (Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
)
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
)
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
)
- Best Original Score
- Best Director (Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
) |
Soundtrack
The original
soundtrack albumA soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
features 15
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
instrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
s composed and produced by
Rolfe KentRolfe R. Kent is a British film score composer.Kent was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He attended St Albans School, then graduated in Psychology from the University of Leeds in 1986...
and was orchestrated and arranged for the band by
Tony BlondalTony Blondal, , is a film and television orchestrator and conductor, and record arranger. He started out his musical career playing live and doing studio recording sessions...
. The album was nominated for the
Golden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for "Best Original Score", and the music so popular there was demand for a national tour. Eventually a few cities were chosen to perform in as the composer was too busy to commit to more.
Remake
Fox International Productions and Fuji TV released a
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese-language remake of the film in October 2009, often referred to in English as Saidoweizu (the anglicization of its Japanese title). The film is directed by Cellin Gluck and stars
Katsuhisa Namaseis a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television dramas. His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incompetence...
, Fumiyo Kohinata,
Kyōka Suzuki, and
Rinko Kikuchi, born , January 6, 1981, is a Japanese actress. Kikuchi is the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years. She is currently Japan's only living female Academy Award nominee in acting categories...
.
The remake shifts the setting of the film to Napa Valley. Although listed as an executive producer, Payne was not involved with the remake but gave it his blessing. Giamatti criticized aspects of the remake, and turned down a
cameoA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the film.
See also
- List of American films of 2004
- A State of Vine
A State of Vine is a 2007 American documentary film about winemaking. It is directed by Don Scioli. With insight and commentary from many members of the wine world – including Two Buck Chuck’s Fred Franzia, champion racecar driver and winery owner Mario Andretti, award winning winemakers, Bob...
External links
- Sideways review by Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
- The Danish Soul of That Town in Sideways