Buffet de Cinema - Les Vins de la Californie

Okay, someone already wrote about Sideways, but hey, the dvd just came out and I thought I'd add a male perspective. Not being a wine afficianado, I probably know less about pinot noir than the Thunderbird winos down at Pioneer Square. For some reason when I read/heard this movie was about a trip to california wine country I was imagining a trip to Napa Valley. The fact that this movie was actually about a trip to Santa Barbara and Santa Maria was a pleasant surprise. The 'road trip' and location aspects of this movie were the best parts, but otherwise it is peppered with intelligent and realistic conversations that somehow reminded me a little of My Dinner with Andre from back in the '80's. The male-male relationships rung much more truly than the male-female relationships. I personally had a problem believing the Sandra Oh character would've really been taken in by the Thomas Haden Church character, nor that she would've risked possible incarceration for felonious assault, though I'm sure most in the audience were happy to see him get his ass kicked by a little girl... Paul Giamatti is very sympathetic as an everyman-type loser. A lot of us probably identify with his failings. Definitely get the 'vacation' feeling of getting to go to a pleasant little vacation location without any of the road weariness... Generally pretty good; worth a dvd rental price...