So I picked up this movie at like TJ Maxx from the bargain movie bin for like $3.99 awhile ago and never watched it. I do that sometimes. I just buy really cheap movies that I'm interested in seeing and that I think will make my overall collection look more impressive. And I knew this one had gotten a fair share of Oscar noms, a respectable 4 during a year that had quite a few good movies come out including Million Dollar Baby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Aviator, Hotel Rwanda just to name a few. And I finally sat down to watch this one tonight. With a glass of wine of course.
The movie is about two 40-something old friends played by Paul Giamatti, one of my favorite actors, and Thomas Haden Church, a guy who I know mostly from George of the Jungle with Brendan Fraser. Giamatti plays a middle school English teacher and aspiring novelist who's divorce two years ago has left him depressed, empty, and drunk. Church plays an actor who's bygone soap opera fame has left him fairly wealthy but kept him living in the past. He's about to get married, so the two of them set off for northern California for a week of wine tasting. Giamatti is a moderate wine expert. Slightly snobby in his tastes, as evidenced by, for whatever reason, his hatred for Merlot. Church is certainly uncultured by Giamatti's standards, but eager to learn and have one last good time before he gets married. Right off the bat, it's clear to see that the two of them have different intentions coming into the weekend. Giamatti wants to just do the one final thing that he enjoys in life, drink wine. And Church wants to have a fling before his wedding.
Enter women. Two women to be exact. Maya, played by Virginia Madsen, who hasn't been in anything that I remember seeing her in, and Stephanie, played by Sandra Oh from Grey's Anatomy. Church and Oh hit it off and Church's intended fling ensues. Giamatti, still reeling from his divorce, is clearly interested in Maya, who seems to return some interest as well. But his insecurities and regrets from the way he dealt with his former wife seem to haunt him and keep him from moving on. Additionally, Church's complete lack of care for his future wife has no regrets about cheating on his fiancée. This bothers Giamatti who, having cheated on his wife, does not want Church to make the same mistakes as he does. Giamatti finally gains the courage to pursue Maya and they have sex and some sort of undeveloped good times before Giamatti lets it spill that Church is getting married. This ruins both of their Napa Valley trysts and send them both back to southern California hurting.
That's the basic plot. But this movie really left me wanting more. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I think that was the biggest problem. It just seemed like nothing really clicked for me. They story was fairly un-compelling. And while it wasn't totally predictable, there was just very little too it. It was sort of funny. It was sort of romantic. It was sort of interesting. But just sort of. And sort of doesn't really cut it. It was filmed ok. About 40% of it was great from a cinematography standpoint, but the rest of it was just so so. It's almost like the parts that were really great to look at were thrown in there to give a big studio movie some credit. Overall it was a pretty unimpressive movie. I probably wouldn't watch it again. I did learn a little bit about wine tasting towards the beginning. Which was cool. And the movie poster is really cool looking. I certainly wouldn't buy it again. Even at the stellar price of $3.99.
