Revisiting Sideways

Nearly five years ago, I came out with my analysis of the film Sideways and called it “Blanc or Noir? An Analysis of the Film Sideways”.  I want to first, thank those who wrote such nice and supportive comments on my blog and my Youtube pages.  I also want to thank those who were critical.  I read every entry and try to learn from them.

So, why am I back here?  I’m back mostly because I read the novel Sideways by Rex Pickett shortly after finishing my analysis.  Also, after my first analysis, I visited the Santa Ynez region for a few days and saw many of the landmarks depicted in the movie.  I had been there before, but this was my first time there since Sideways.  I even stayed at the Windmill Inn in Buellton where Jack and Miles stayed.  Yes, the film was really shot there.  I can attest to that as my room looked almost exactly like the motel room in the movie.  The shots from the balcony were authentic, and I visited “The Clubhouse” which is the bar on the Windmill’s grounds and I could easily see that it was the same as in the movie.

After digesting this new information from both the novel and in being there personally, I decided that I would need to come back to Sideways eventually.  It took a while as I had a lot of trouble organizing my thoughts in how to present the material this time.  Let’s hope it is worthwhile re-visiting.

The Novel

The novel Sideways was first published in 2004 by Rex Pickett.  The movie came out the same year with Rex Pickett being a contributing writer.  With such a quick turnaround and with the author involved, it should be no surprise that the movie follows the novel quite closely.  

My first analysis indicated themes from the movie.  I was curious if they were in the novel as well.   In other words, how much of the nuances in the movie were Rex Pickett and how many were Alexander Payne?  Don’t worry.  I’m not going to go over every little difference between the film and novel.

Pickett or Payne?

When converting a novel to a screenplay, one of the first things the screenwriter must ask is “What can I remove from the novel and still tell the same story?”  Sideways is no exception and there are certainly characters and scenes present in the novel that were either left on the cutting room floor or never put in to begin with.

One thing that’s obviously similar right away is that Pickett had a chapter for each day and Payne used that same formula with the mostly black title cards indicating the day.  Something that’s also immediately noticeable is the novel starts on Friday, the movie starts on Saturday.  So, what happens on Friday?

Friday

Friday evening, Miles attends a tasting at “The Bullpen” at “Epicurus”.  There, he flirts with a woman named Dani – a friend who happens to be getting married.  He also gets into a scuffle with a drunk, and sees Jack at the end.  Miles lives in Santa Monica, not San Diego, so the whole driving to L.A. scene on Saturday morning in the movie doesn’t take place.  

In the movie, all we get is “There was a tasting”

Let’s get some differences between the novel and movie out there right away:

1.       Jack is getting married the next Sunday instead of Saturday.
2.       Jack’s fiancée’s name is Barbara or “Babs”, not Christine.
3.       Miles has two unfinished novels instead of one. 
4.       Miles drives a Toyota 4Runner instead of a Saab
5.       Jack’s wedding will be in Paso Robles instead of the Los Angeles area.
6.       In the movie, Miles and Jack were old college roommates.  In the novel, they worked together on a low-budget film with Miles as the writer and Jack as an actor.

I’ll attribute the first one to crunching the time frame to fewer days.  Why did they change the name of Jack’s fiancé?  I can only guess that since she’s Armenian in the movie, Christine is a more appropriate name.  Oh!  So why is Jack’s fiancé Armenian in the movie?  I can only speculate that the filmmakers thought it would make sense since there is a significant Armenian presence in Southern California.

The other items are more interesting. 

In the movie, Miles is trying to get “The Day After Yesterday” published through Conundrum.  As I had pointed out before, the title evokes similarities with the title “Sideways”.  The story is of a middle-aged man trying to take care of and deal with a sick father.  This story is not unlike the story of Sideways itself.  In the Sideways novel, the title of Miles’ novel is never given but it involves a drunk private investigator. So, the whole “The Day After Yesterday” story being parallel with the story theme in the movie is not in the novel.

I made a point about driving a Saab 900 in the movie.  The Saab is more or less, a near-luxury vehicle and with it being an older model, it makes sense for a guy like Miles – who’s a bit pretentious, but not affluent enough to drive a true luxury vehicle.  That’s for the movie however.  In the novel, Miles drives a much more common and ordinary Toyota 4Runner.

Paso Robles is north of Buellton.  Near the end of the novel, Jack and Miles head north instead of south as in the movie.  South is home, so this helps quicken the pace of the movie.  No new landmarks going north are needed and having the wedding in Paso Robles didn’t really add to the story anyways.  The movie mentions Paso Robles, however.  

"It [Cabernet Franc] was a silver medal winner at Paso Robles last year."

The movie makes it seem that Miles has never had any success as a writer.  In the novel, he had written some screenplays used in low-budget films.

Also, things start a day earlier in the novel as Jack and Miles start their trip on Friday night.

The Drive North

The novel has Miles and Jack heading to wine country Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon.  They stop in Montecito to visit Miles’ mother.  This is another change.  Montecito is a more well-to-do community than Oxnard.  Oxnard fits the narrative of Miles being common and having a more common upbringing.  Plus, without Oxnard, we’d miss this little forbearance.

The next morning, they drive up to Buellton and stay at the Windmill Inn, just like the movie except it’s Saturday instead of Sunday.

Saturday

Saturday in the novel is essentially the movie’s Sunday.  They wake up at Mother’s house and go to a coffee shop with a pretty 20-something waitress that catches Jack’s eye.  The “I like all varietals” scene takes place.  They do go to the Sanford Winery just like the movie.

They go to the Hitching Post that evening.  This is all just as it happened in the movie except it’s a day early.  At the Hitching Post, there are some notable changes. 

1.       Maya is a brunette
2.       Other than a distant nod, there is no interaction between Maya and Miles at the Hitching Post.  Maya does pay for the drinks, though.

In the movie, Maya meets with Miles and Jack at the Hitching Post’s bar and she orders “Highliner”, which I learned happens to be a Hitching Post-branded Pinot Noir.

Miles and Jack end up at the “Clubhouse” (the bar at the Windmill Inn).  They run into a character there named Brad. Brad asks Miles about going boar hunting. Neither Miles nor Jack show much interest in hunting but seem to enjoy talking to Brad. Maya shows up wearing a black cashmere sweater.  The situation is similar as to what happens in the film at the Hitching Post, except it was Saturday, not Sunday, and at the Clubhouse.  Miles gets drunk and performs “Crystal Blue Persuasion” at karaoke.

Sunday

As you might guess, Sunday in the novel is basically Monday in the movie.  The days do eventually catch up with each other.  You’ll see.  

Just like in the movie, the novel has “the plan” discussion where Jack reveals his intention to get “his nut” on the trip.  Unlike the movie, Jack doesn’t talk about getting a woman for Miles here.

On their drive up north to the first winery, this is where Miles first talks about Pinot’s “thin-skinned” nature.  Jack compares it to a “high-maintenance woman”.  It’s probably a clue to the reader that characteristics of wine can be compared to people.

They actually go to the Byron winery.  This is the same “Byron” that Miles and Jack drink in the car in the movie.

The novel has the similar scene where Jack tells Miles that Victoria remarried.  There is no chase scene though.

At the Foxen winery, they meet a pretty wine pourer.  Instead of Asian Stephanie, it’s a New York blonde named Terra.  Unlike the movie, Terra is blonde and Maya is brunette.  So much for the light and the dark theme that was prevalent in the movie.

The Cab Franc conversation occurs.  Jack likes all blending varietals according to Miles meaning Jack  likes everything and everyone just like in the movie. My earlier analysis pegged Jack as a Cabernet Sauvignon – a wine that’s agreeable in most circumstances.  This theme is in both novel and film

Going to the movie now, I do have a new observation.  In my previous analysis, I compared Stephanie to Cab Franc.  I realize now that there are more parallels as Stephanie mentions the winery has only been making Cab Franc for the past 5 years.  This reflects that Stephanie has only been into wine for a relatively short time.  The second-place finish for the wine at Paso Robles is interesting in that Stephanie ultimately comes in “second” for Jack will end up marrying “Babs” in Paso Robles in the novel.

The foursome date occurs Sunday night. The “don’t sabotage me” conversation takes place.  The Merlot scene is tamer than in the film “They’re not going to order Merlot.” … “And if they do, I’m splitting.”  There’s no “dark side” talk and the profanity is not there.

The restaurant is in Santa Ynez, not Los Olivos.

Maya is drinking Andrew Murray Viognier instead of Fiddlehead Sauvignon Blanc.

The wines drunk that night were almost the same as those in the move:

’95 Whitcraft in the novel, 2001 Whitcraft in the movie

 The movie shows a Sea Smoke Botella (also a Pinot Noir) that’s not mentioned in the novel.

’99 Kistler Rochioli

’96 Comte Armand Pommard

In conversation, it’s apparent in the novel that Maya discreetly understands that Miles’ novel being published is a ruse.  This rather kills the scene in the movie where Maya shows so much interest in Miles’ novel early on and doesn’t mind that it’s so large and full of typos.

Miles’ specialty wine is an ’82 Latour, not a ’61 Cheval Blanc.  Miles brought the bottle with them on the trip.  My earlier analysis revealed that actress Virginia Madsen was born in 1961 so the special wine in the film was a direct reference to her – the actress, and not so much the character.

They get to Terra’s place just like in the movie.  Terra in the novel does not have a young daughter as Stephanie in the movie does.  Why did Payne feel the need to make Stephanie a single mother?  Good question.  I don’t know.

While we are here, I want to point out an observation in the movie.  Maya and Miles are looking at Stephanie’s refrigerator when they’re talking about Siena – Stephanie’s daughter.  Notice among the photos, there’s an interesting cartoon.  I don’t personally remember my Dick and Jane, but I want to believe that Jane is the blonde girl and represents Maya while the brunette girl represents Stephanie.  Jane knows Connie but doesn’t care to know Dick.  I think we know who “Dick” represents.

When Maya and Miles are drinking the wine (TanTara) from Terra’s collection, they both agree that it’s not so great.  In the movie, Miles liked it while Maya criticized it.

Maya and Miles end up in Terra’s living room and don’t go to the porch.  They talk about jazz and relationships, but the conversation about wine is not in the novel.  Also, they neck and fondle that evening which did not happen in the movie.

Monday

Monday in the novel is similar to Tuesday in the movie.  It begins quite differently though.  Miles wakes up in his motel room with Maya there bringing him coffee and croissants.  There had been no sex that night, but Maya had driven Miles back and stayed in the motel room with him.

Here, Miles uses the term “sideways” in the novel.  The word is never used in the movie.

Golf with Jack.  Unlike the movie, Miles is the better player.  The discussion with Jack concerning his new affair with Terra and how Jack’s now unsure if he wants to get married happens here instead of as it did in The Clubhouse in the movie.  

Miles spends the evening alone, although he is invited to the Hitching Post.  He watches a bad action flick at the movie theater and has a phone conversation with Maya.  They talk of a comet in the sky that they had both seen the night before and Miles had seen again this night.  Miles likens the comet to his life with its disintegration.  None of this is in the movie.

Tuesday

Tuesday is where the timeline of the novel and movie start merging.  

In both, Miles wakes up alone, eats alone, golfs alone, and comes back to catch Jack with Stephanie.  One interesting tidbit is Jack tells Miles he is “not George Clooney”.  This is ironic since George Clooney wanted to play Miles in the film.  Director Alexander Payne does cast Clooney in his next film – The Descendants.

The major difference on Tuesday is the duo go on the boar hunt with Brad.  Brad and this scene are not in the movie at all.  Brad invites Miles to go out to the hills by the ocean to hunt wild boar.  Jack has another date lined up with Terra, but reluctantly agrees to go – complaining the entire time.  Instead of boar-hunting, Brad decides to have fun with Miles and Jack by scaring them.  He fires random shots in their general direction.  Miles and Jack finally catch Brad and threaten to have him put in jail.  Brad agrees to chauffer Miles and Jack to a wine festival at the Fess Parker winery on Friday.  Miles and Jack confiscate Brad’s gun, which they leave in the motel room.  During all of this, Jack cracked a rib tackling Brad.

This scene wouldn’t have fit in with the movie as that Jack would not have chosen Miles over Stephanie.

Wednesday

Wednesday has major differences between the novel and movie.

In the novel, this day begins with Miles taking Jack to the Lompoc hospital because of his rib.  While Jack is getting X-Rayed, Miles reads a women’s magazine and introspectively thinks about the nature of men, why and how they cheat, and how they act when caught.  This completely foretells what is going on with and what will ultimately happen to Jack.  In the movie, none of this happened – there was no boar hunt, there was no rib injury, there was no hospital visit on Wednesday.

They decide to go to Hearst’s Castle and drive along the coast.  They stop at a restaurant in Morro Bay – not a coffee shop but a seafood restaurant, but the waitress was very young and in pink like the coffee shop early in the movie.

They take the tour at Hearst Castle and talk about it afterwards.  Miles finds it depressing and questions the lifestyle choices of William Randolph Hearst.  He questions someone who’s life ambition seemed to be to impress other people.  Jack, of course, thinks it’s all great.

They visit the Babcock winery and drink Riesling and Syrah as the Pinot was unimpressive.  We learn in their dialog that Victoria is not especially knowledgeable about wines.  In the movie, Miles remarked about her extensive knowledge and pallet.

There is a second date with the women starting at the Hitching Post.  They drink Highliner Pinot.  Jack reveals to Miles that Babs, his fiancé will receive half a million dollars from her parents after the wedding.  Miles now really wonders why Jack is messing around with Terra.  Jack reveals that Babs is marrying him for the money.

Miles admits to himself that he could potentially be interested in Terra if Jack wasn’t with her already.  This contrasts the movie where Miles showed no interest in Stephanie.

They go to the Cedar Spa that night.  Miles and Maya view the comet that’s not in the movie.  Jack removes his bandage to hide his injury.  They drink an ’85 La Tache wine that Miles recognizes as being very special and very expensive.  Maya had brought it.

Going back to the comet, it’s not in the movie but there may be a subtle reference to it.  When the gang are at Stephanie’s place Wednesday with Stephanie smoking a joint, the background music just happens to be the song “New Haven Comet”.

Funny, the Cedar Spa is one location in the novel that may be fictional or at least, no longer around, as I couldn’t find it on any map or on Google.

Jack and Terra exit the hot tub leaving just Miles and Maya.  Here is where Maya remarks about Miles’ ’82 Latour being possibly past its prime.

They make love at the spa while drinking Richebourg.  Then end up back at the Windmill and continue drinking.  Richebourg is mentioned in the film as it is the one wine that Stephanie forbade Miles and Maya from drinking two nights earlier.

Miles deliberately tells Maya that Jack is getting married Sunday.  Maya’s reaction and the ensuing argument is just about the same as in the movie except that it takes place in the motel room.

I want to point out that in the movie, Miles clearly shows thought as to what he was going to say to Maya when mentioning the rehearsal dinner.  He did not blurt it out accidentally.

Maya reveals to Miles that Jack paid her $1000 to seduce him with expensive wines.  She angrily gives the money back to Miles now that she knows what kind of man Jack is.  Then she leaves.  In the movie, they woke up together Thursday morning.  I don’t believe the Maya of the movie would ever had stooped to take money from Jack for this purpose.  Maya, in the movie represents a “shining beacon” for Miles.  Not so much in the novel.

Thursday

Miles greets Jack Thursday morning by slugging him – angry about Jack paying Maya.  He ends up breaking Jack’s nose and they go to the hospital for the second time on the trip.  

At the golf course, they have the conversation about if Miles had told Maya anything.  The novel too, has Miles lying to Jack by saying “No.”  However, the movie had this conversation after Stephanie had confronted Jack.  The scene with the other golfers hitting a ball their way happens just the same as the movie.

The scene with Terra confronting Jack is different but has the same result.  Terra got into their motel room and waited for the two men.  Jack opens the door finding Terra with Brad’s rifle and she takes shots in his direction.  She rants at him as in the movie, but eventually breaks down to cry prodding Jack to approach her.  Terra punches Jack in his already injured nose.  Interestingly, Jack does not go to the hospital here.

After talking to the police, the “What does this look like to you?” conversation occurs.  Then they go to A.J. Spurs, the western-themed restaurant.  They interestingly drink Merlot and there’s no Cammi.

That night is when Jack crashes Miles 4-Runner in order to account to his fiancé and in-laws how he got injured.  The comical part in the movie is not in the novel.

They end up in Skorpios, a Greek café where they drink a $175 Silver Oak Cabernet and meet Zaftig, who is essentially Cammi from the movie.  Jack gives the “my plight” speech to Miles in the car outside of Zaftig’s home.

Friday

Other than Jack is in boxer shorts instead of being totally naked, Friday opens up almost exactly as in the movie with Jack begging Miles to help him get his wallet back from Zaftig’s place.  Jack wants to use Brad’s rifle at first, but Miles warns him of the legal ramifications of armed breaking and entering.  The scene where Miles sneaks into the home, the details are virtually the same until Miles gets hold of the wallet.  In the novel, the husband (described as “Cuckold”) chases after him, catches him, throws him in the pool and tries to drown him.  Jack rescues Miles by overtaking Cuckold, who is too timid to chase after them in the open while naked unlike the movie.  Zaftig was aware that there was $1000 in Jack’s wallet – giving another reason Cuckold chased after Miles.

They meet up with Brad to go to the wine festival.  Brad had agreed to chauffeur them in exchange for not being turned in to the police for shooting at them.

Instead of “Frass Canyon”, it’s the Fess Parker winery where the festival is held.  Unlike the movie, Maya is there.  Miles doesn’t speak to her, but Jack apparently tries to talk her into coming to the wedding.   He’s hoping to encourage Miles, who decided not to go, so that if he showed up at the wedding with Maya, it would show his ex-wife Victoria that he has moved on.

At the festival, it’s very crowded and Miles calls his agent just as in the movie.  He gets the exact same answer about his novel.  The scene with Miles gorging from the spit bucket plays out similarly, but afterwards, they go to the beach where Miles tries to drown himself in the ocean.  Jack saves him and Miles comments to himself about being too insignificant to kill himself and uses the “smudge of excrement” remark internally instead of saying it to Jack.  It makes me wonder if there was a deleted scene in the movie as Miles does talk about suicide.

Miles calms down and agrees to go to Jack’s wedding.  That night, they eat prime rib and share the ’82 Latour.  In the movie, Miles drank the ’61 Cheval Blanc alone in a fast-food restaurant.

Jack reveals that his leg was injured when he went into the ocean to save Miles.  Jack ends the week with a cracked rib, a broken nose, and now a broken ankle.  The novel clearly shows the toll of the friendship during the week.  It took its toll on Jack physically and on Miles emotionally.  This is one theme not in the movie.

Saturday

Jack is at the hospital for the third time to have his broken ankle treated.  

Miles goes off to Paso Robles and stays by himself at Motel 6.  He talks with Maya on the phone who doesn’t feel Miles is ready for a relationship and is still fixated on his ex-wife.  She tells Miles she’ll think about going to the wedding.

Sunday

At the wedding, no such scene occurs in the novel of Jack giving that sly look to Miles.  Miles has the same conversation with his ex-wife as in the movie, but inside the reception room.  Miles dances with Babs and it’s obvious that she has suspicions about what went on that week.  She doesn’t buy the car accident story.  Miles sees the wedding as the ending of his friendship with Jack.

Maya suddenly shows up wanting to see only Miles.  Miles briefly compares Jack and Babs’ new marriage to the comet that flashed in the sky but is no longer there.  Maya and Miles leave the reception with Maya telling Miles they don’t belong there.  The last remark means Maya accepts that Miles is not Jack and would not suffer the same inevitable fate.

The novel’s ending is so different than that of the movie.  The movie ended very open-ended, while the novel has Maya and Miles together.  The breaking away from Jack, Babs, and Victoria at the wedding symbolizes Miles is moving forward, not sideways.

I want to point out another observation at the end of the movie.  Maya likes winter – another clue to her own dark side.

Conclusion

So, in the themes I had previously brought up in my earlier videos, how does Sideways the novel compare to Sideways, the movie?

 We don’t Like the Main Characters: Considering that the novel is written in first person form from Miles, this theme isn’t there.  How can a reader not like the storyteller and keep reading?  Miles is always explaining why Jack does the things he does, so Jack comes across as more likeable in the novel too.  One other point I’d like to make here is when I say, “We don’t like the main characters”, that doesn’t mean we don’t understand or relate to them.  I mean their actions and mannerisms indicate they are both self-centered guys.  Neither is heroic.  I think most of us see the potential in Miles and root for him throughout the movie.

Miles and Jack are Very Different People:  This is obvious in both novel and movie.  

Wines Representing the Characters:  I explored this theme a great deal in my earlier analysis.  It’s in the novel, but not nearly to such an extent.  Director Alexander Payne seemed to really drive this theme more so than author Rex Pickett.

The Light and the Dark:  Here’s another theme I took a good amount of time with.  This is not in the novel.

Father and Son:  This is another theme prominent in the movie, but not in the novel.

Addiction:  This is really more in the movie than the novel.  The depression medications that Miles takes, as well as his mother are not in the novel.

There are two themes in the novel that aren’t in the movie.  One is the comet, something only Miles and Maya share.  Secondly, Jack suffers multiple physical injuries throughout the trip while Miles is constantly struggling with his emotions.  Both take their toll on the two characters.

When it comes down to it, Sideways is a great example of where the film exceeds the depth of the novel.  It may not contain all the scenes or introspection of the main character, it visually and sometimes audibly hints at all of them.  Alexander Payne is an amazing filmmaker.  I already knew that but comparing the novel to the film revealed that even more.