Sideways
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Sideways
Lead Actors: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Sandra Oh, and Virginia Madsen
Director: Alexander Payne
Release Year: 2004
Runtime: 126 minutes
A brilliant buddy comedy that reflects on the pain of life post-divorce and the value of fidelity, not only in your partner, but in your friends as well. All of this is channeled through the craft of wine, which acts as a catalyst for the plot to continue to develop. My favorite scene is when Virginia Madsen asks Giamatti why he likes Pinot Noir so much, to which he responds something like 'Pinot is hard to grow. It's temperamental, thin-skinned, ripens early, is unforgiving when handled incorrectly. But, when it's given the proper care and attention, and patience to grow just right, it can reveal magnificent things and reach its fullest potential'. The man was doublespeaking about himself and it revealed the amazing quality of the adapted screenplay, which won the Oscar in '04. Raucously funny in addition to jarringly real, a real treat of a movie.