movie-reviews-uk

I've seen "Sideways" twice now - once when it was released and just recently after a twenty year gap. It's still a decent buddy comedy with some excellent dialog but it just doesn't have the robust body and long finish that I'm looking for.

The setup is pretty simple. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are a pair of long-time friends who wouldn't even be acquaintances except for the accident of sharing a room at university. They are, in most conceivable ways, polar opposites. Church is a so-so actor, a womaniser and a boor. Meanwhile Giamatti is an uptight oenophile reeling from his divorce and a bit of a sad-sack.

However they're thrown together on a pre-marital week of wine tasting (or glugging) in the California vineyards. Cue low-end motel rooms, bachelor shenanigans and a moderate level of soul-searching. This all passes the time quite easily although I can't say that the characters really attain some sort of change. They end as they begin.

This doesn't make "Sideways" a bad film as it's really quite enjoyable and the script contains some great one-liners. But it's not in the medal-winning category either so it's best not to expect too much. Best enjoyed on a wet weeknight rather than put on as your favourite film ever to the date that you're aiming to impress.

Having read some reviews I was pretty excited by "American Fiction" but it surpassed even my febrile expectations. It's the story of a black, American writer of quality who decides to go low-brow as a joke only to discover that this is his best selling effort yet. To say that he is perturbed is to put it mildly.

As the tale progresses Jeffrey Wright, as Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, keep raising the stakes to demonstrate how absurd it is that his stereotypical novel is being acclaimed. The funny thing is that he may or may not be right. Certainly another black author of books that he thinks that he despises (but hasn't read) ably defends her work and the amount of research required.

So while the film is very much poking fun at white, middle-class readers it isn't too particular on who it skewers. And yes I'm aware of the absurdity of an audience laughing at themselves being made to look foolish. Anyway the most appealing characters are those such as Monk's brother or his mother's housekeeper in that they are true to themselves and not looking to judge or be judged.

All in all "American Fiction" is both very funny and really quite moving. Even the smaller characters have depth and honestly none of the performances strike a bum note. This is a great debut from director Cord Jefferson and I can't wait to see what he does next.