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jhclues's rating
The medium of the cinema can be entertaining as well as educational, and when it's done well, a film can be both. Such is the case with "Sideways," directed by Alexander Payne, who also wrote the screenplay, which he adapted from the novel by Rex Pickett.
Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an actor whose "star" peaked some eleven years earlier and who now ekes out a living primarily doing commercials, is about to be married. With one week to go before the big day, his best man/friend/former college roommate, Miles (Paul Giamatti), has cooked up a trip to California's wine country, where he proposes a week of friendship, good wine, good food and golf as a send-off for Jack into that most blessed state of matrimony.
As is often the case with the hand that Life deals us, however, the week does not quite go as planned, for a couple of reasons: First, though Miles proclaims this week to be about Jack, Miles is battling his own demons of depression, which have plagued him for going on two years now, ever since his divorce from his beloved Victoria (Jessica Hecht). In addition to which, although he makes his living as an Eighth-Grade English Teacher, Miles is also an aspiring novelist, who happens to be waiting for a call from his agent, who has a publisher interested in the novel Miles has been working on for more than three years. So there is an ulterior motive for Miles at work here; a wine connoisseur, he's taking Jack into country that is not only familiar to him, but is without question a "comfort zone" for Miles, who desperately needs a temporary respite from his own cares right now.
The other problem is that Jack has an inflated ego and an overactive libido, a potent combination that quickly dictates an alternate plan of action for the week. Jack, it seems, is bent on sowing every last wild oat that remains, active or dormant, within him, before his impending nuptials scheduled for the following Saturday. Soon he is involved with Stephanie (Sandra Oh), who works pouring samples of wine for visitors at one of the first vineyards to which Miles takes Jack on their tour.
Jack then successfully devises a plan that gets Miles involved with Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress at one of the restaurants Miles frequents on his visits to this part of the world. Maya also happens to be a recent divorcée who is working on her Master's in Horticulture at one of the local colleges, as well as being a wine connoisseur in her own right and a friend of Stephanie's to boot. All of which sounds like the makings of a good time for all, with one exception: Jack conveniently fails to tell Stephanie that he is about to be married.
Bad move, Jack...
In "Sideways," Payne has created a highly entertaining and emotionally involving film with characters and situations to which a broad cross-section of viewers will readily be able to relate and identify. Payne has an eye for nuance and subtlety, which makes his film- essentially a character study- a succinct examination of the human condition.
Subtlety and nuance is exactly what Paul Giamatti brings to the role of Miles, as well. It's a performance that is so real it's almost excruciatingly so at times, but it makes Miles someone you can empathize with. Giamatti creates a sympathetic character you can't help but root for on this vast wilderness of a stage we call life; it's a performance that should easily have earned him an Oscar for Best Actor.
Haden Church does an exemplary job, too, as Jack. He imbues his character with such believable self-centered shallowness that you want to laugh at him and hit him at the same time. The rub is, Jack knows what he's doing, but simply can't help himself; so in the end you may find yourself sympathizing with him anyway, because Haden Church presents Jack as someone who just does not possess the intellectual capacity to do otherwise, which somehow makes you want to let him off the hook. You realize that this is just Jack honestly being who he is. And it takes a good performance to get you as a viewer to that place.
The striking Virginia Madsen does a good job, as well, as Maya, creating a character that is a perfect counterpart to the Miles created by Giamatti. And Sandra Oh, currently riding a surging wave of popularity due to her role on televisions "Grey's Anatomy," brings some definite pizazz to her role of Stephanie, successfully displaying her character's spirit, while at the same time exposing a decidedly vulnerable side of her.
The supporting cast includes Missy Doty (Cammi), M.C. Gainey (Cammi's husband), Patrick Gallagher (Gary the bartender), Marylouise Burke (Mile's mother), Alysia Reiner (Christine) and Stephanie Faracy (Stephanie's mother).
A film that lends itself to repeated viewings, "Sideways" is one of those gems that makes you appreciate not only the artists involved, as well as the art of film-making, but the medium itself. I like this movie more every time I see it.
Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an actor whose "star" peaked some eleven years earlier and who now ekes out a living primarily doing commercials, is about to be married. With one week to go before the big day, his best man/friend/former college roommate, Miles (Paul Giamatti), has cooked up a trip to California's wine country, where he proposes a week of friendship, good wine, good food and golf as a send-off for Jack into that most blessed state of matrimony.
As is often the case with the hand that Life deals us, however, the week does not quite go as planned, for a couple of reasons: First, though Miles proclaims this week to be about Jack, Miles is battling his own demons of depression, which have plagued him for going on two years now, ever since his divorce from his beloved Victoria (Jessica Hecht). In addition to which, although he makes his living as an Eighth-Grade English Teacher, Miles is also an aspiring novelist, who happens to be waiting for a call from his agent, who has a publisher interested in the novel Miles has been working on for more than three years. So there is an ulterior motive for Miles at work here; a wine connoisseur, he's taking Jack into country that is not only familiar to him, but is without question a "comfort zone" for Miles, who desperately needs a temporary respite from his own cares right now.
The other problem is that Jack has an inflated ego and an overactive libido, a potent combination that quickly dictates an alternate plan of action for the week. Jack, it seems, is bent on sowing every last wild oat that remains, active or dormant, within him, before his impending nuptials scheduled for the following Saturday. Soon he is involved with Stephanie (Sandra Oh), who works pouring samples of wine for visitors at one of the first vineyards to which Miles takes Jack on their tour.
Jack then successfully devises a plan that gets Miles involved with Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress at one of the restaurants Miles frequents on his visits to this part of the world. Maya also happens to be a recent divorcée who is working on her Master's in Horticulture at one of the local colleges, as well as being a wine connoisseur in her own right and a friend of Stephanie's to boot. All of which sounds like the makings of a good time for all, with one exception: Jack conveniently fails to tell Stephanie that he is about to be married.
Bad move, Jack...
In "Sideways," Payne has created a highly entertaining and emotionally involving film with characters and situations to which a broad cross-section of viewers will readily be able to relate and identify. Payne has an eye for nuance and subtlety, which makes his film- essentially a character study- a succinct examination of the human condition.
Subtlety and nuance is exactly what Paul Giamatti brings to the role of Miles, as well. It's a performance that is so real it's almost excruciatingly so at times, but it makes Miles someone you can empathize with. Giamatti creates a sympathetic character you can't help but root for on this vast wilderness of a stage we call life; it's a performance that should easily have earned him an Oscar for Best Actor.
Haden Church does an exemplary job, too, as Jack. He imbues his character with such believable self-centered shallowness that you want to laugh at him and hit him at the same time. The rub is, Jack knows what he's doing, but simply can't help himself; so in the end you may find yourself sympathizing with him anyway, because Haden Church presents Jack as someone who just does not possess the intellectual capacity to do otherwise, which somehow makes you want to let him off the hook. You realize that this is just Jack honestly being who he is. And it takes a good performance to get you as a viewer to that place.
The striking Virginia Madsen does a good job, as well, as Maya, creating a character that is a perfect counterpart to the Miles created by Giamatti. And Sandra Oh, currently riding a surging wave of popularity due to her role on televisions "Grey's Anatomy," brings some definite pizazz to her role of Stephanie, successfully displaying her character's spirit, while at the same time exposing a decidedly vulnerable side of her.
The supporting cast includes Missy Doty (Cammi), M.C. Gainey (Cammi's husband), Patrick Gallagher (Gary the bartender), Marylouise Burke (Mile's mother), Alysia Reiner (Christine) and Stephanie Faracy (Stephanie's mother).
A film that lends itself to repeated viewings, "Sideways" is one of those gems that makes you appreciate not only the artists involved, as well as the art of film-making, but the medium itself. I like this movie more every time I see it.
A pivotal moment in the history of the world has been captured by writer/director Emilio Estevez in his brilliant film, "Bobby," a chronicle of the day Senator and Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was murdered in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June, 1968.
On June 6, 1968, when RFK died, the hope of a nation died along with him. It was the day that began a downward spiral of true democracy in the United States of America, which has taken us, finally, as a country, into the darkness of corporate corruption and political despotism.
Which is why this film is so important.
With this film, Estevez, rather than put together just another filmed biography, has reignited the light that was Bobby Kennedy. Rather than throw facts, figures and debate at you, he instead resurrects the spirit of the man, and in doing so captures the very essence of who Robert Kennedy was and what he stood for. And he succeeds in large measure by using archival footage of Kennedy, rather than casting an actor in the role, which allows the viewer to experience Kennedy as he really was, to hear the compassion in his voice and see it in his eyes. Listening to Kennedy deliver a speech is moving and powerful; and for those too young to remember, or for those who were not around at the time, it affords the opportunity of knowing what it was like to hear words that really meant something, coming from a politician who really cared and knew how to convey the truth of his convictions with such eloquent determination.
What a marked contrast to the empty rhetoric and falsehoods espoused by the inarticulate, semiliterate demagogue currently in power.
As the film points out, Kennedy came from privilege, and he knew it; and he felt obliged (in his own words) to give something back. He said it and he meant it. Bobby Kennedy had a vision of how truly great this country could be, and wanted to do something about it. Unfortunately for all of us, Fate intervened.
The individual stories of the many characters in the film are interesting and well presented, but on their own they are not that important, nor were they meant to be. The drama that plays out among them as that dire moment we all know is coming approaches is the drama of all of our lives; they are Everyman and Everywoman, and they are there to set the stage and lend emotional ballast to the story. And under the care and guidance of Estevez it works, as it enables the viewer to identify and relate to what is happening, and what is about to happen.
The all-star cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Demi Moore, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Freddy Rodriguez, Elijah Wood, David Krumholtz, Heather Graham, Joshua Jackson, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Martin Sheen, Shia LaBeouf, Nick Cannon, Brian Geraghty and Emilio Estevez.
In this film, Estevez does not place Bobby Kennedy on a pedestal; he does not portray him as a fallen god. What he does is capture the spirit of a time and a man who carried the hope of a nation in his dreams. Estevez proffers no conspiracy theories and no fingers are pointed in this film. "Bobby" is simply what it was meant to be: A glimpse into what could have been and never was. And it makes you long for a leader you can trust, someone you can truly believe in; for a country that stands tall and is not undermined by ersatz "patriotism." This film makes you long for the restoration of the real America.
On June 6, 1968, when RFK died, the hope of a nation died along with him. It was the day that began a downward spiral of true democracy in the United States of America, which has taken us, finally, as a country, into the darkness of corporate corruption and political despotism.
Which is why this film is so important.
With this film, Estevez, rather than put together just another filmed biography, has reignited the light that was Bobby Kennedy. Rather than throw facts, figures and debate at you, he instead resurrects the spirit of the man, and in doing so captures the very essence of who Robert Kennedy was and what he stood for. And he succeeds in large measure by using archival footage of Kennedy, rather than casting an actor in the role, which allows the viewer to experience Kennedy as he really was, to hear the compassion in his voice and see it in his eyes. Listening to Kennedy deliver a speech is moving and powerful; and for those too young to remember, or for those who were not around at the time, it affords the opportunity of knowing what it was like to hear words that really meant something, coming from a politician who really cared and knew how to convey the truth of his convictions with such eloquent determination.
What a marked contrast to the empty rhetoric and falsehoods espoused by the inarticulate, semiliterate demagogue currently in power.
As the film points out, Kennedy came from privilege, and he knew it; and he felt obliged (in his own words) to give something back. He said it and he meant it. Bobby Kennedy had a vision of how truly great this country could be, and wanted to do something about it. Unfortunately for all of us, Fate intervened.
The individual stories of the many characters in the film are interesting and well presented, but on their own they are not that important, nor were they meant to be. The drama that plays out among them as that dire moment we all know is coming approaches is the drama of all of our lives; they are Everyman and Everywoman, and they are there to set the stage and lend emotional ballast to the story. And under the care and guidance of Estevez it works, as it enables the viewer to identify and relate to what is happening, and what is about to happen.
The all-star cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Demi Moore, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Freddy Rodriguez, Elijah Wood, David Krumholtz, Heather Graham, Joshua Jackson, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Martin Sheen, Shia LaBeouf, Nick Cannon, Brian Geraghty and Emilio Estevez.
In this film, Estevez does not place Bobby Kennedy on a pedestal; he does not portray him as a fallen god. What he does is capture the spirit of a time and a man who carried the hope of a nation in his dreams. Estevez proffers no conspiracy theories and no fingers are pointed in this film. "Bobby" is simply what it was meant to be: A glimpse into what could have been and never was. And it makes you long for a leader you can trust, someone you can truly believe in; for a country that stands tall and is not undermined by ersatz "patriotism." This film makes you long for the restoration of the real America.
Over the years, the "sports" movie has become a genre unto itself, and good or bad, these films are for the most part well received by a significant cross section of the population who hold the fundamental belief that sports=America=patriotism. And filmmakers know it. That's why most of these films feature thematic variations rooted in the "Win one for the Gipper," "It's not winning, but how you play the game" and "There's no 'I' in 'team'" mentality. How refreshing, then, when one like "Bad News Bears" comes along to provide a much needed perspective on our society's preoccupation with sports in general, and amateur athletics in particular.
Based on the 1976 screenplay by Bill Lancaster and updated by screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (who successfully teamed up with Thornton for 2003's "Bad Santa"), the story is about a local little league that has excluded a group of youngsters for failing to live up to their standards of physical prowess (they just aren't good enough to play with the "real" eleven and twelve year old "athletes"), the mother who sues the organization so that her son can play, the resultant team of diverse "misfits" the league must accommodate, and the man hired by the mother to manage that team.
That man in none other than Morris Buttermaker (Billy Bob Thornton), a former professional baseball player who once pitched 2/3 of an inning in the Big Leagues and who now makes a living by exterminating rats. "Boilermaker" Buttermaker likes to drink, frequents the local Hooters and doesn't give a fig about what anyone thinks about him. Not that he's a rugged, iconoclastic individualist; far from it. He's just a guy who refuses to play the game anymore (and we're not talking about baseball here). On the surface, he's probably not the guy you'd choose to be your kid's role model, mainly because of all the things he "isn't." Upon closer examination, however, it becomes apparent that being a hypocrite is among the things he "isn't," and it's very telling as to the man's true character.
On the other side of the fence, meanwhile, there's the manager of the Yankees, Roy Bullock (Greg Kinnear), a real coach's coach, a pillar of the community (he's a car salesman) and the very personification of The Great American Role Model. He's as American as apple pie, and if there's a high moral ground in evidence here, he's on it. And, he is by all that's holy, going to take his team to the championships. His team is going to win, no matter what, because, after all, winning is everything, isn't it? Even if it means expecting your twelve-year-old to play like a Major Leaguer with a multimillion dollar contract, and publicly chastising him when he doesn't.
And therein lies the beauty of this film. Without preaching, without pointing fingers, but simply by presenting a realistic depiction of one of our sacred institutions, the "coach," the true nature of what millions of kids are subjected to in the name of "sportsmanship" year after year in this country is exposed, and with no apology necessary. At the same time it says that kids are worth more, much more, than what the Roy Bullock philosophy has to offer. The Roy Bullocks of the world will tell you that this kind of treatment "builds character." I beg to differ. And it's up to the Morris Buttermakers of the world to level the playing field. And when the rubber meets the road, I'd want my kid on Boilermaker Buttermaker's team rather than Bullock's any day of the week Director Linklater assembled a superb cast for this film, beginning with Thornton, who makes Buttermaker a very real, if flawed, flesh and blood human being, quite different from the likable caricature created by Walter Matthau in the 1976 original version. Kinnear delivers, as well, by capturing the very essence of a character that anyone who has ever been near a little league-- or any sports field-- has known in real life. And in the confrontations between Buttermaker and Bullock, Thornton and Kinnear give it a ring of truth that is beyond anything you'll ever see on any of the "reality" TV shows.
Add to that a credible performance by Marcia Gay Harden as Liz whitewood (the mother who sues the little league), and an amazing group of young actors: Sammi Kane Kraft (Amanda); Ridge Canipe (Toby); Brandon Craggs (Mike); Jeffrey Davies (Kelly); Timmy Deters (Tanner); Carlos Estrada (Miguel); Emmanuel Estrada (Jose); Troy Gentile (Hooper); Kenneth Harris (Ahmad); Aman Johal (Prem); Tyler Patrick Jones (Lupus); Jeffrey Tedmori (Garo); Carter Jenkins (Joey); and Seth Adkins (Jimmy), and you've got a movie that's going all the way to the World Series.
The acerbic humor and biting satire of "Bad News Bears" is without a doubt going to generate some mixed reviews. Some viewers will be offended by this film; others will be outraged. But that's because the truth hurts, and the fact of the matter is, there's a lot of Roy Bullocks out there, and they'll all be expecting a movie that confirms their point of view and sanctions their own sanctimonious belief that the lessons learned on the diamond, the court or the football field are all positive, the stuff that "champions" are made of. Instead, they're going to see a film that has the guts to call a spade a spade, that isn't entirely politically correct and in the end may make it necessary for them to take stock and reevaluate the real world that exists out there beyond the shells of the cocoons in which they've ensconced themselves. And that, my friends, is the magic of the movies.
Based on the 1976 screenplay by Bill Lancaster and updated by screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (who successfully teamed up with Thornton for 2003's "Bad Santa"), the story is about a local little league that has excluded a group of youngsters for failing to live up to their standards of physical prowess (they just aren't good enough to play with the "real" eleven and twelve year old "athletes"), the mother who sues the organization so that her son can play, the resultant team of diverse "misfits" the league must accommodate, and the man hired by the mother to manage that team.
That man in none other than Morris Buttermaker (Billy Bob Thornton), a former professional baseball player who once pitched 2/3 of an inning in the Big Leagues and who now makes a living by exterminating rats. "Boilermaker" Buttermaker likes to drink, frequents the local Hooters and doesn't give a fig about what anyone thinks about him. Not that he's a rugged, iconoclastic individualist; far from it. He's just a guy who refuses to play the game anymore (and we're not talking about baseball here). On the surface, he's probably not the guy you'd choose to be your kid's role model, mainly because of all the things he "isn't." Upon closer examination, however, it becomes apparent that being a hypocrite is among the things he "isn't," and it's very telling as to the man's true character.
On the other side of the fence, meanwhile, there's the manager of the Yankees, Roy Bullock (Greg Kinnear), a real coach's coach, a pillar of the community (he's a car salesman) and the very personification of The Great American Role Model. He's as American as apple pie, and if there's a high moral ground in evidence here, he's on it. And, he is by all that's holy, going to take his team to the championships. His team is going to win, no matter what, because, after all, winning is everything, isn't it? Even if it means expecting your twelve-year-old to play like a Major Leaguer with a multimillion dollar contract, and publicly chastising him when he doesn't.
And therein lies the beauty of this film. Without preaching, without pointing fingers, but simply by presenting a realistic depiction of one of our sacred institutions, the "coach," the true nature of what millions of kids are subjected to in the name of "sportsmanship" year after year in this country is exposed, and with no apology necessary. At the same time it says that kids are worth more, much more, than what the Roy Bullock philosophy has to offer. The Roy Bullocks of the world will tell you that this kind of treatment "builds character." I beg to differ. And it's up to the Morris Buttermakers of the world to level the playing field. And when the rubber meets the road, I'd want my kid on Boilermaker Buttermaker's team rather than Bullock's any day of the week Director Linklater assembled a superb cast for this film, beginning with Thornton, who makes Buttermaker a very real, if flawed, flesh and blood human being, quite different from the likable caricature created by Walter Matthau in the 1976 original version. Kinnear delivers, as well, by capturing the very essence of a character that anyone who has ever been near a little league-- or any sports field-- has known in real life. And in the confrontations between Buttermaker and Bullock, Thornton and Kinnear give it a ring of truth that is beyond anything you'll ever see on any of the "reality" TV shows.
Add to that a credible performance by Marcia Gay Harden as Liz whitewood (the mother who sues the little league), and an amazing group of young actors: Sammi Kane Kraft (Amanda); Ridge Canipe (Toby); Brandon Craggs (Mike); Jeffrey Davies (Kelly); Timmy Deters (Tanner); Carlos Estrada (Miguel); Emmanuel Estrada (Jose); Troy Gentile (Hooper); Kenneth Harris (Ahmad); Aman Johal (Prem); Tyler Patrick Jones (Lupus); Jeffrey Tedmori (Garo); Carter Jenkins (Joey); and Seth Adkins (Jimmy), and you've got a movie that's going all the way to the World Series.
The acerbic humor and biting satire of "Bad News Bears" is without a doubt going to generate some mixed reviews. Some viewers will be offended by this film; others will be outraged. But that's because the truth hurts, and the fact of the matter is, there's a lot of Roy Bullocks out there, and they'll all be expecting a movie that confirms their point of view and sanctions their own sanctimonious belief that the lessons learned on the diamond, the court or the football field are all positive, the stuff that "champions" are made of. Instead, they're going to see a film that has the guts to call a spade a spade, that isn't entirely politically correct and in the end may make it necessary for them to take stock and reevaluate the real world that exists out there beyond the shells of the cocoons in which they've ensconced themselves. And that, my friends, is the magic of the movies.