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IMDbPro

Sideways

  • 20042004
  • RR
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
194K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
862
466
Sideways (2004)
Trailer
Play trailer2:30
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
194K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
862
466
    • Alexander Payne
    • Rex Pickett(novel)
    • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
    • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Paul Giamatti
    • Thomas Haden Church
    • Virginia Madsen
    • Alexander Payne
    • Rex Pickett(novel)
    • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
    • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Paul Giamatti
    • Thomas Haden Church
    • Virginia Madsen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 929User reviews
    • 186Critic reviews
    • 94Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos2

    Sideways
    Trailer 2:30
    Watch Sideways
    Sideways
    Trailer 2:29
    Watch Sideways

    Photos158

    Virginia Madsen, Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, and Sandra Oh in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Virginia Madsen and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, and Alysia Reiner in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)
    Thomas Haden Church and Sandra Oh in Sideways (2004)
    Virginia Madsen, Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, and Sandra Oh in Sideways (2004)
    (l to r) Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church
    Thomas Haden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Giamatti
    Paul Giamatti
    • Miles
    Thomas Haden Church
    Thomas Haden Church
    • Jack
    Virginia Madsen
    Virginia Madsen
    • Maya
    Sandra Oh
    Sandra Oh
    • Stephanie
    Marylouise Burke
    Marylouise Burke
    • Miles's Mother
    Jessica Hecht
    Jessica Hecht
    • Victoria
    Missy Doty
    Missy Doty
    • Cammi
    M.C. Gainey
    M.C. Gainey
    • Cammi's Husband
    Alysia Reiner
    Alysia Reiner
    • Christine Erganian
    Shake Tukhmanyan
    • Mrs. Erganian
    • (as Shaké Toukhmanian)
    Shaun Duke
    Shaun Duke
    • Mike Erganian
    • (as Duke Moosekian)
    Robert Covarrubias
    Robert Covarrubias
    • Miles's Building Manager
    Patrick Gallagher
    Patrick Gallagher
    • Gary the Bartender
    Stephanie Faracy
    Stephanie Faracy
    • Stephanie's Mother
    Joe Marinelli
    Joe Marinelli
    • Frass Canyon Pourer
    Chris Burroughs
    • Chris at Stanford
    Toni Howard
    • Evelyn Berman-Silverman
    • (voice)
    Khoren Babouchian
    • Armenian Priest
    • (as Rev. Fr. Khoren Babouchian)
      • Alexander Payne
      • Rex Pickett(novel)
      • Alexander Payne(screenplay)
      • Jim Taylor(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Paul Giamatti admitted to faking every bit of wine knowledge, and not understanding why anybody would care about it. He also claims he was shocked that he was cast in a lead role and initially thought it was a practical joke.
    • Goofs
      When Miles is doing his crossword puzzle while driving, his speedometer reads zero.
    • Quotes

      Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot.

      Miles Raymond: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

    • Crazy credits
      No California oak trees were harmed during the making of this production.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Clock (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Thursday Night at Pasquale's
      Written and Performed by Astrid Cowan

      Courtesy of Astron Records

    User reviews929

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Excellent expose of narcissism on two sides of the same coin
    A woman's take on this is probably not the same as a man's. Initially I was put off by Charles Hayden's Church's character crudeness and Giamatti's character's repulsiveness but that changed was I was able to look below the surface. By the end of the movie, I felt very sorry for Church as he was not only dumb and shallow, he was actually so empty that whatever female was before him became a mirror of his need to connect with anything that felt like caring. Church did a fabulous job and was incredibly believable as a has-been wannabe, desperate to hold on to his dream of the kind of good life that is bought by charm and good looks. He is just on the edge or realizing his time is running out and that is a whole lot for this character to absorb as he has never given much to the concept of "thought."

    Giammeti is a pitiful, self-absorbed, destructive, depressed alcoholic whose in possession of two "things." He knows a great deal about wine and he has written a book. Nothing else informs him. Yet his performance is so nuanced that we are able to fill in his depth of character and decency primarily through his huge, limpid eyes. What a performance. He should have been nominated for an academy award. This is a role that comes along once-in-a-lifetime for this type of character actor, like Liza in Cabaret.

    The women are really nothing more than backdrops or props for the men to expose themselves. Madsen is lovely but you do wonder what on earth she really sees in this man. While he may be redeemable, he is really pretty much a self-absorbed jerk. It is most interesting that this film has been released at the same time as Closer, as they are similar in their exploration of self-absorption. Though Closer explores how destructive its characters are to each other, in the end, Closer is not as intimate and seems more artificial than the sweetly revealing Sideways.
    helpful•140
    105
    • ociopia
    • Feb 2, 2005

    FAQ1

    • What wines are they drinking throughout the film?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 22, 2004 (United States)
      • United States
      • Hungary
      • Fox Searchlight
      • English
      • Armenian
      • French
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Solvang, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Searchlight Pictures
      • Michael London Productions
      • Sideways Productions Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 7 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS

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