In Search of Wine. In Search of Women. In Search of Themselves.

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke, Jessica Hecht, MC Gainey

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #42 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Sideways

"Half my life is over and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing. I am a thumbprint on the window of a skyscraper. I'm a smudge of excrement on a tissue surging out to sea with a million tons of raw sewage." – Miles

Why watch this? ... comedy, wine, romance, golf, depression, infidelity, more wine...

Plot Summary: Two middle-aged friends, Miles and Jack, are on a week-long road trip through California's Santa Barbara wine country as a celebration of Jack's upcoming wedding. Miles, a wine enthusiast and struggling writer, hopes for a peaceful escape from his recent divorce and stalled career. Jack, a carefree actor, is more focused on having one last fling before getting married.

Dad's Preview: Set in Santa Barbara wine country, this film's heart is wine-tasting, however its soul is the relationship between two best friends, Miles and Jack. One is an intelligent, struggling writer. The other is an over-confident, calloused, has-been actor. They are nothing alike. They fight a lot, as many best friends do, and they are often brutally honest. Yet deep down, the lugs love each other. Giamatti is quickly becoming my go-to actor, and Haden Church never disappoints.

Michael London Productions; Fox Searchlight Pictures

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