Miles is a guy who talks wine like any other guy would talk cars - the '95 Pinot, the '61 Chableau, the color, the rarity, the finish. But there is a reason he prefers to make a hobby of vintages. You can't get drunk on Camaros.
He's an alcoholic who hides behind the sophistication and social acceptability of the word "sommelier." He's a self-described writer who hasn't written anything substantial. He's also a bad friend. Miles is so hapless, so uninspired and so unlikable a character that it would take Paul Giamatti to wring some humanity out of him. Good thing Giamatti was cast. No one is better at playing abrasive characters in an endearing way.
Director Alexander Payne does not work in a milieu, so the fact that "Sideways" is something new and different is not a surprise. It's not a tart satire like "Election" or a touching fable like "About Schmidt." It's really a buddy and road trip movie with a carpe diem message.
Miles does have a friend, and his name is Jack. Jack is a washed-up actor who, when anyone has the slightest glimmer of recognition in their eyes, quickly confirms that, yes, he was that hunk doctor on that now-cancelled soap opera. Jack is getting married, and Miles takes him up the California coast to wine country for one last bachelor's fling. Miles is in the trip for the wine, Jack is in for the alcohol. But between Jack's philandering and Miles' penchant for excessive wine-tasting, the vacation turns sobering.
"Sideways" is funny, and Thomas Haden Church, as the dense but lovable Jack, scores the best lines. Giamatti makes Miles funny in a sad, destructive way. While Jack can charm and bed any woman in sight, Miles is ashamed and inept at even making small talk, as evidenced by a dinner scene with the two friends, Jack's babe-of-the-moment, and Maya, a wine expert who works in the northern California vineyards. Miles knows Maya is perfect for him, but he sabotages his own efforts by drinking and making himself repulsive. Better to scare someone off than risk being rejected after genuine advances, no?
Virginia Madsen, an intriguing, earthy actress, plays Maya as best she can. After all, it is inexplicable why Maya is attracted to Miles at all. But as their relationship develops, for better or worse, Madsen and Giamatti create a real, honest portrayal of middle-aged courtship. Madsen is beautiful, but not in a glitzy or breathless way, and Giamatti is one of the few romantic leads to celebrate both a potbelly and male-pattern baldness. Together, despite the mystery of the attraction, they have a genuine chemistry that puts to shame any joint venture between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
If these characters' relationship is hard to qualify, the film itself is easy to peg. The film's bouquet is sly comedy with a hint of melancholy and a bittersweet finish. It is a coming-of-middle-age story, a kind of John Hughes flick for the over-40 crowd. It takes the normal features of a romance, comedy and buddy road trip movie and distills them. It's a matured film.
And at the center of it is wine - whose complexities and lifespan serve as a heavy-handed metaphor for romance, youth and regret - and Miles, whose discontent has become a permanent hangover. Now, he has found a woman who might be the cup of rich black coffee he needs. Does he shake the hangover? The final shot of the film answers this question, but not in the way you think.
