Sideways

The place on the web to chat about wine, Australian wines, or any other wines for that matter
Post Reply
lordson
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:08 pm

Sideways

Post by lordson »

What do people think of this movie?

I dont understand why she decided to have sex with him on the basis of him talking about how he likes Pinot Noir and telling her stuff about it that she probably already knows

but besides that, i thought it was a good movie. it wasn't about wine, but had wine in the forefront alot. this movie was what intrigued me about wine, and i started ordering wine at restuarants.

before that i had some truly aweful, disgusting wine at a few weddings (asian weddings, read=cheap)

there was this one point in the movie where he was trying a wine with the winemaker there, and he was like "there's a hint of something *clicks fingers* ... strawberries!" and the winemaker says "yes, well done."

thats why i thought that extra fruit is added to the wine to distinguish it from other thousands of wines

User avatar
Craig(NZ)
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 3:12 pm
Location: New Zealand

Post by Craig(NZ) »

A good character development type of movie boardering on arty. Better than the typical american swill

Good luck on the replies for this thread Lordson, the hooks and bait laid should get plenty of frenzied bites hehe

You should look up Serge, you would get on so well
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson

lordson
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:08 pm

Post by lordson »

what, this guy? http://forum.auswine.com.au/profile.php ... file&u=619

i'm not aware of any baits i left

just wanted to see what people thought, i read somewhere, some guy didn't like how it romanticised wine, but i never thought that

User avatar
Wayno
Posts: 1633
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:31 pm
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Wayno »

That's the one. Only one.
Cheers
Wayno

Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.

Jules
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:38 pm

Taking the bait...Not

Post by Jules »

Love to answer the question about why she may have had sex with him based on a conversation about wine...

But as they say "a gentleman never tells".

Blue
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:38 pm

Re: Sideways

Post by Blue »

lordson wrote:before that i had some truly aweful, disgusting wine at a few weddings (asian weddings, read=cheap)


You been hanging out with the wrong asians :D

User avatar
Craig(NZ)
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 3:12 pm
Location: New Zealand

Post by Craig(NZ) »

Love to answer the question about why she may have had sex with him based on a conversation about wine...


Its because Lordson is Serge. He is researching his latest movie called "Debbie does Petrus"
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson

User avatar
Roscoe
Posts: 369
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:42 pm
Location: Sydney

Post by Roscoe »

Lordson, I think this movie is primarily about deception, with a vinous setting.
The wine savvy Stephanie and Maya are depicted as open, honest and generous (especially Stephanie's wine pours). As such they are easy prey for Jack and Miles' deceptions. Miles' mum would also come into this category.
Miles is also somewhat deceptive, even to himself. He does however have a conscience and some insight. Because of this, he makes some progress during the movie to address his issues. We are hopeful at the end that he can make a go of it with the honest and open Maya.
Jack, the wine innocent in the movie, is the most deceptive. It is no coincidence he is an actor, a profession in which the ability to deceive is paramount. He appears to be emotionally shallow and is so lacking in conscience that he is bordering on sociopathy. Because he is emotionally shallow, he is also not a very good actor (in fact a failed soap opera actor). When he shows emotion we feel it is fake emotion e.g his performance to Miles to get him to go back for the wedding ring. We know Jack will not change. We know he will never experience anything more than the most transient emotional fulfillment and that at those moments, his penis will be directly involved.
I'm sure its open to other interpretations, but that's my take on Sideways.
Any other views?
"It is very hard to make predictions, especially about the future." Samuel Goldwyn

User avatar
KMP
Posts: 1246
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:02 am
Location: Expat, now in San Diego, California
Contact:

Post by KMP »

I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen this movie. Roscoe’s summary is excellent, but I have to add a few of my impressions.

Wine is the common denominator for the main characters, even for Jack as he immerses himself in his week of women before his wedding - he even plays with the idea of him and Miles buying a vineyard. I disagree a little with Roscoe about the sincerity of Jack when he convinces Miles to go back for the wedding rings. At that point Jack is seeing his whole world collapsing and he finally realizes just how much he needs Christine, maybe not as a life partner but as a safe port that he can return to in times of trouble. Whether that will work out for him in the future is very doubtful given his shallowness, but given his immaturity he probably believes it will.

Will there be a sequel? Rex Pickett, the novelist who wrote Sideways, has said “A lot of people would love to see the Jack and Miles characters again. My agents didn't want me to go in that direction, but I might be leaning that way. If I do, I'm going to reverse them. Miles is like me. In '98, when I wrote this, I had process servers at my door. What if Miles is a novelist and a success? What if Jack is divorced and a failure?”

Oh, and Pickett has drunk from a spit bucket!

Mike

User avatar
griff
Posts: 1906
Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:53 am
Location: Sydney

Post by griff »

Roscoe wrote:Lordson, I think this movie is primarily about deception, with a vinous setting.
The wine savvy Stephanie and Maya are depicted as open, honest and generous (especially Stephanie's wine pours). As such they are easy prey for Jack and Miles' deceptions. Miles' mum would also come into this category.
Miles is also somewhat deceptive, even to himself. He does however have a conscience and some insight. Because of this, he makes some progress during the movie to address his issues. We are hopeful at the end that he can make a go of it with the honest and open Maya.
Jack, the wine innocent in the movie, is the most deceptive. It is no coincidence he is an actor, a profession in which the ability to deceive is paramount. He appears to be emotionally shallow and is so lacking in conscience that he is bordering on sociopathy. Because he is emotionally shallow, he is also not a very good actor (in fact a failed soap opera actor). When he shows emotion we feel it is fake emotion e.g his performance to Miles to get him to go back for the wedding ring. We know Jack will not change. We know he will never experience anything more than the most transient emotional fulfillment and that at those moments, his penis will be directly involved.
I'm sure its open to other interpretations, but that's my take on Sideways.
Any other views?


A truly erudite response. While i couldn't write such a view I would concur. The only theme I would like to mention is that while Miles is deceptive he always realized that that one has to walk the walk to a certain extent and hence his possession of that prized bottle of wine. I think the act of drinking it allows Miles to adjust the placement of his self into an area that is more real i.e. as you mention perhaps a future with Maya.

cheers

Carl
Bartenders are supposed to have people skills. Or was it people are supposed to have bartending skills?

Whino
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:07 pm

Sideways

Post by Whino »

I thought it one of the worst films I've ever seen. If you want a wonderful film about wine (but so much more as well) then the first and last to see is Mondovino. If you think Robert Parker is god though don't bother, he comes up looking pretty foolish.

User avatar
DaveL
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2003 9:17 pm
Location: Perth

Post by DaveL »

"before that i had some truly aweful, disgusting wine at a few weddings (asian weddings, read=cheap) "

That's a really classy generalisation to make son, nice one.
Ground control to Major Tom, take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

lordson
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:08 pm

Post by lordson »

been to three asian weddings, tried all the wine there, and it was aweful

0/3

and thats what got me thinking, whats the big deal with wine

that was a little while back

User avatar
DaveL
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2003 9:17 pm
Location: Perth

Post by DaveL »

...did the guests speak Asian at the weddings too; and the service, was it also conducted in Asian?

*shakes head and walks away slowly*
Ground control to Major Tom, take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

lordson
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:08 pm

Post by lordson »

what are you talking about?

are you oversensitive to people referring to asians? the opposite of racist?

it was an Asian wedding reception, how about that. asian staff, asian food, cheap wine to keep the costs down.

Duncan
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2003 4:09 pm
Location: Yallingup, Western Australia

Post by Duncan »

The only asian-style wedding I've been to was almost exactly nine years ago and was also the most expensive and extravagent.

I could forgive Miles many things, but not stealing from his mother. Actually drinking wine from a styrofoam cup was pretty bad as well. I understand the importance of the scene, but I don't think any wine lover would have done it - he'd have taken his riedel with him.

It didn't stop me loving the film though.
Hide the rum Captain Jack Sparrow

User avatar
James Douglas Hook
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:41 am
Location: McLaren Vale
Contact:

Post by James Douglas Hook »

Duncan wrote:Actually drinking wine from a styrofoam cup was pretty bad as well. I understand the importance of the scene, but I don't think any wine lover would have done it - he'd have taken his riedel with him.


I always took that to mean he had become so broken down emotionally by his ex-wife's revelation she was pregnant. He no longer cared enough about himself to care about his prized possession.

He had sunk so low.

But that moment helps in come to grips with his situation and teaching him not to hold onto issues of the past (symbolised by storing wine) and embrace the future (Maya).

User avatar
Dan
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:40 am

Post by Dan »

I love that he hates Merlot. Yet his most prized wine is packed with it.

User avatar
JohnP
Posts: 115
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 5:12 pm
Location: Brisbane

Post by JohnP »

Dan wrote:I love that he hates Merlot. Yet his most prized wine is packed with it.


A wine packed with cabernet franc and merlot!

And its largely about Pinot Noir!!
Barossa Shiraz

DerekJ
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Sydney

Post by DerekJ »

on Asian weddings... I concur! I am Asian, which of course allows me to freely insult Asians without being labelled a racist. :P

The main reason wine is bad at Chinese weddings at least (err.. not all Asians are the same, despite what some think), is because the invite is usually extended to several hundreds of guests. I have been to a wedding where the guest count was over 1000. Now unless the wedding party are loaded, that can explain bad wine. Cheap = bad? Not necessarily, but how many people can pick out the better cheap wines? Only those in the know. Then again, I have never had a decent wine at any wedding, Asian or not.

Last one I went to had Yellow Tail. It tastes like candy. eww...

User avatar
dave vino
Posts: 1505
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 6:23 pm

Post by dave vino »

I take my own wine to weddings. All of my friends/family know about my 'habit' so don't think twice about it.

Post Reply