Sideways

Jack is getting married in a week. His friend, Miles, wants to take him out to celebrate. Instead of the typical bachelor party, Miles decides to take Jack wine tasting. They two leave on a Saturday, one week before his wedding. Not everything works out the way that Miles wanted it to. On the way up, Miles wants to stop by his mother's house. It's the day before her birthday and he wants to stop by. The two friends end up spending the night there and sneaking out the following morning.

The two friends are sort of an odd couple. Miles could be described as a wine snob. He knows a lot about wine and how to tell them apart. Miles knows how to smell, drink and analyze the wine. Jack has to be told to take the gum out of his mouth first. When they get where they're going, the eat dinner at The Hitching Post, where Miles usually eats when he's in the area. Jack sees Maya, one of the waitresses there. Miles seems to recall something about her getting married and doesn't seem to have the drive to ask her out, anyway. Jack points out that the two would be perfect for each other and that some women wear a ring to ward of potential suitors.

The next day, they go to a winery. Jack and Miles talk to the woman who's serving them the various wines. Her name is Stephanie and it turns out that she knows Maya. Jack sets them up on a double date and buys three cases of wine. Miles can't help but point out that Jack is going to be a married man by this time next week. Still, Miles decides to play along. Before entering the restaurant, Jack gives Miles a talk about not being such a downer. Miles can go home early if he wants, but Jack is going to score, and I don't mean with points. Throughout the week, nothing goes as planned. Jack and Stephanie spend a lot of time together, leaving Miles alone to play golf by himself, get drunk by himself, or approach Maya.

For some reason, I recall someone telling me that this was a comedy. While it had it's funny moments, I didn't really think of it as being a comedy. Part of it is that you have these two totally different main characters. Jack just wants to have fun. He's an actor that's had a big part or two, but he mostly does small stuff to bring in money. Miles has plenty of reasons to be depressed. He's divorced and nobody seems to want to publish his book, which is something like 750 pages. He teaches 8th-grade literature, again to get the bills paid.

The two have been friends since college, although one has to wonder why. It seems like Jack always wants to get in trouble and Miles is the one always pulling him back from the tracks. At several points in the movie, Miles has to play along, cover for Jack or bail him out of trouble. You can't help but think that Jack deserves to get hurt at least once and that Miles deserves better. While I was watching it, I was thinking that Jack's wife-to-be is getting one heck of a husband. The thing is that everyone knows someone like Jack. (If you are Jack, then you know someone like Miles.)

This is not a movie for children. There are several sex scenes, which involve things that children won't understand. That's not even including all of the other sexual references and adult situations. This isn't really a movie that you'd want to watch with your mother, either. I would recommend it, though. The movie doesn't try to do too much. It's mostly just a movie about two friends trying to have some fun, even if their versions of fun differ.

I'd give the movie four stars. It's not something that I'd run out and recommend that everyone see, but if you're looking for an enjoyable movie, you can rent this one.