Sideways

Yeah, it was as dumb as I expected it to be.  An unfunny comedy with the odd funny moment stuck in.

None of the characters were sympathetic.  The moping author, the horn dog college friend and two females that don't get much by way of characterization (though one more then the other).  It has a happy ending when Giamatti's character finally gets off his ass and goes for the girl.  Otherwise it just sorta revels in the character's total douchebaggery.

It does excel in the one aspect it was meant for which was selling the California wine industry.  Yep, for that alone it deserves five stars.

Overall, I'd say it's about three stars.  It's well acted, the story is...okay.  The characters aren't massively shit upon though Thomas Hayden Church is a total dickwad.  I do want to lick Sandra Oh's stomach so long as she keeps a bag over her head.  And we really needed to see Virginia Madsen's bare breasts.  Hell yes.  For seven bucks it could be a lot worse.

Oh, and Il Bastardo?  Absolutely most definitaly the closest I've bought to a bum wine.  It's not....bad...per se.  But it's not really good either.