Sideways - 2004 * * *

Sometimes you have to leave to find your way back.

There was a lot of talk about this movie and I couldn't wait to see it. However when I actually purchased the disc I waited a ridiculous amount of time before I watched the DVD, 7 months in fact which seems to be one of my faults when it comes to films. I'd thought that the longer I left it, the better it would be and the more I would appreciate it and the feelings I had gathered about what I may expect beforehand. Sadly, my excitement in movies appears to be very limited nowadays and I finished watching the film feeling quite let down and disappointed. The story itself doesn't have much to it, 2 friends go on a trip to the Californian vineyards as an extended bachelor party, one to forget about his divorce and the other to get laid before his wedding. I actually really empathised with Miles' character and his love of wine. He seemed like a genuinely decent bloke who was in no way sleazy or arrogant, and I began to build up a rapport with him. However I disliked Paul immensely and found him a pathetic excuse for a male. The last thing most decent men do is try and have sex with other women the week before they are going to get married, and so I found that I hated what he stood for, (having zero respect for his fiance and being sexually promiscious) and am sure that few male viewers would see him as a good and pleasing character.

In films like this you can usually tell by about half way through whether you are going to be able to engage with the characters and for me it only took about ten minutes. I loved the first half of the film and was rooting for Miles to have a great trip while enjoying his passion for wine, but the second half went drastically downhill and we were subjected to Paul and his sexual exploitations which I felt we could have done without. I may have enjoyed the film more if the character of Paul hadn't existed and I could have concentrated more on Miles, but as that was not the case the film cannot grasp more than an average rating. Although the Californian countryside and scenery was really beautiful.

A disappointing movie.