Sideways – on DVD
The movie sideways has been credited with increasing tourism in California and boosting sales of Pinot Noir. Not only that, it’s a pretty good film. I’m not showing it to my kids due to the nudity and sexual content which gives it an “R” rating, but I will recommend it to friends and even my mom (but I won’t watch it with her due to the aforementioned “R” rating grabbers)
In the movie, two friends take a trip through wine country in California stopping at different local wineries for tasting and critiquing of the newest bottles.
As the movie progresses we find the main characters Miles and Jack – played by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church – having dinner at a local restaurant. Miles, hung up on an ex-wife, fails to notice the obvious flirtings of Maya played by Virgina Madsen.
( Virginia has one of those faces that I know I have seen before. As a matter of fact when I first saw her I was distracted from the movie trying to figure out where I had seen here before…. then it hit me she was in V… the mini series. She played a character named Julie Parrish. Funny a google search and her bio show nothing about V (but more than 50 films and tons of TV appearances). Eh- anyway. Once I got over trying to figure out who she was I got back into the film.)
Jack treats the week as his last chance to jump into the sack with someone other than his fiance and ends up with Sandra Oh – Under the Tuscan Sun, Gray’s Anatomy – a wine pouring biker chick.
Miles and Jack end up having the adventure of a week, drinking wine playing golf and generally having a blast just before Jack’s wedding. Of course Miles is fighting not just the hang up over his ex-wife but depression, a dismal record of novel rejections, his snobbish obsession with Pinot Noir and his inability to “control” Jack. As their week drags on one wonders if Jack really will get married and if Miles will open his eyes up and see Maya’s flirtations.
If you haven’t seen it I recommend popping up some corn, popping in the movie and hitting play. To get even more into it, grab a few differerent bottles of Pinot and at least one Merlot and taste along with the movie 
