Barnes & Noble

Would-be author Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) is in a rut. He’s divorced, just north of 40, eking out life as a junior high school English teacher -- and every publisher in the business has turned down his novel. Wine is his real passion -- the Pinot Noir varietals in particular -- although his oenophilic aspirations have lately devolved into excess. His best friend, Jack (Thomas Hayden Church), a small-time actor who is now lucky to get cast in the odd commercial, is considering going to work for his fiancée's father. Before the impending nuptials, Miles takes Jack on a weeklong tour of California's Santa Ynez valley wineries. Miles is in search of the perfect Pinot; Jack is just looking for a last fling. When they meet two women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh), things get considerably more complicated. This is the setup for the warm and funny Sideways, a combination buddy comedy and road film that never travels the obvious path. The most critically acclaimed film of 2004, Sideways lives up to the hype, just as Lost in Translation, winner of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, did the year before. Director Alexander Payne and writing partner Jim Taylor have crafted a near-perfect little movie that doesn't aim to be big or important. These characters could easily have been portrayed as pathetic losers, but thanks to a sparkling screenplay (based on Rex Picket's novel) and nimble performances by Giamatti and Church, Miles and Jack are likable despite their deep flaws. It helps, too, that Madsen and Oh make such perfect foils for the wayward duo. As in their earlier gems, Election and About Schmidt, Payne and Taylor juggle the hilarious and the tragic deftly -- arguably to the greatest effect in their young careers. For anyone who has ever found themselves somewhat adrift in life, Sideways will resonate even more deeply. Bill Pearis

All Movie Guide

Directed by Alexander Payne, Sideways follows Miles (Paul Giamatti), who is distressed about his lack of success as a novelist, and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an equally unsuccessful actor with a rapidly approaching wedding. In a last-ditch effort to sow their wild oats, Jack and Miles take off on a final road trip to California's wine country the week prior to Jack's wedding. Both men have goals for the vacation -- Miles wants to turn Jack on to the art of wine tasting, while Jack is concerned with exploiting his last days as a bachelor -- but when the two men come across two fascinating women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh), the duo is forced to examine their morality, and if maturity isn't such a depressing prospect -- at least, for one of them. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Entertainment Weekly

It's an intoxicating feeling when a movie excites and enlivens us like this -- and there's a particular giddiness to be had in thinking about what movies can (but don't often) do for one's soul after imbibing such a fine vintage. Lisa Schwarzbaum

Chicago Sun-Times

The characters are played not by the first actors you would think of casting, but by actors who will prevent you from ever being able to imagine anyone else in their roles. Roger Ebert

Product Details

• UPC: 024543563518
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 2:07:00
• Sales Rank: 28,711

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Sideways/Little Miss Sunshine
• Fox Searchlight Spotlight Series, Vol. 4
• Fox Searchlight Spotlight Series, Vol. 2

Features: