Sideways: What’s the big deal? I mean, it’s a decent story and it WILL make you want to try Pinot Noir, even though it’s the most tasteless, bodiless wine out there. This is not a funny movie, as it’s made out to be.
It’s a sad, cautionary tale of a divorced man beginning the long decline of middle age who must witness the joie de vive of every other person in Napa valley as he reflects on his own failures. It’s well acted, and there are moments of comic relief, but the general thread (“This guy is SUCH a loser”) runs so strong that I never could get into the other characters.
Virginia Madsen is good, and certain scenes have excellent dialog, but the whole Nihilistic uselessness of the whole story turned me off. It’s worth watching, if only to encourage you to do SOMETHING with your life (kids, career, hobbies, marriage) by the time you’re 40.