this afternoon i saw sideways, the new film by alexander payne which i saw as part of the talk cinema film series. i've seen and liked all of payne's prior films ("citizen ruth", "election", and "about schmidt"), but "sideways," i think, is now my favorite.
"sideways" is about a failed writer/8th grade english teacher who takes his shallow actor friends to california wine country just before his friend's wedding. i immediately liked the it at the beginning when it started lampooning wine snobs. and then it remained both touching and funny for the rest of the film.
during the discussion that followed, most of the other people in the audience seemed to view the film through the rubric of a guy-roadmovie genre. i guess that's what it was, but it was so well done that classification honestly never occurred to me until it was over. it's not exactly a genre i like all that much, but i really liked it in "sideways" so therefore everyone must see it.
the trash heap has spoken. nyah
