SIDEWAYS

For people who like watching comedy with light music this movie is a must. Especially for people living in California as it is shot completely there. (Please don’t feel at any point that I have been paid by the producer to promote the movie. This is just what I felt after watching the movie.)

The movie starts with Miles (Paul Giamatti: The Illusionist, Lady in Water, etc.) waking up to find that he is late to meet a friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church: probably an Arnold Schwarzenegger look-alike competition winner, 2004). The two friends set out to spend a week together away from home as Jack is getting married next week to the love of his life.

The whole movie involves wine tasting and the flamboyant playboy Jack meeting new girls and ending up in a comic situation. Miles, on the other hand, who knows a lot about wines, is a reserved sort of a person who has not been able to come over his divorce. He too meets a girl who loves him more than anything else in the world, but being a depressing character he is not able to return her the love she deserves.

After watching the entire movie (for all the people who drink alcohol: Please skip this part) one feels a strong urge to taste wine. The way wine has been portrayed in the movie is amazing. It has been shown as an exotic and important part of our lives. It is said to have a life of its own. I personally felt sad for not drinking. There are some principles I have of my own (damn them!). But then what is a man without any principles in life. It was the same way I felt for beer after watching Beerfest.

(Drinkers can now resume reading) The music is so refreshing it takes you to another heaven. One feels like a part of the movie all throughout. The landscape, the vineries, the restaurants; they all cause an immense desire to visit California. At no point of time does one feel that the movie has been overdone or that something is missing. One can find humour in the smallest of things. And by humour I do not mean ones which ask you laugh. The simplicity with which scenes are created makes a person laugh from inside. It is one of the few movies which blend comedy with elegance perfectly.

So I guess nomination for five academy awards (including best picture and best director) and having won two golden globe awards (best picture: music and comedy) very well supports all that I have said. Now what are you waiting for? Go and get a CD/DVD today. Or if you do not want to waste money, ask me.

P.S. – Most of you must be wondering what is Beerfest all about. Well the name says it all. Anyway you have two options: watch it or wait for another blog...