Digging Deeper Into Sideways
I guess this says it far better than I could....

'Sideways' humor overshadows realities of alcoholism
BY MIREYA NAVARRO
New York Times
Pioneer Press February 27, 2005

Miles, the protagonist of the Oscar-nominated film "Sideways," may be all thumbs when it comes to writing and women, but when the subject is wine, he is a poet of pinot noirs and just about every other grape he meets on an alcohol-fueled road trip through the Santa Barbara wine country.

In between swirls, tastings and lyrical wine epiphanies, however, this same merlot-phobic sophisticate is shown stumbling blindly out of a bar, chugging wine straight from the bottle and, at his most desperate, doing the unimaginable: guzzling from the spit bucket.

Critics, for the most part, found the movie delightful, adult viewers flocked to the clever comedy and the positive buzz bolstered tourism in the Santa Ynez Valley where the movie was filmed.

But a much more critical appraisal is coming from alcohol treatment professionals, recovering alcoholics and others who say that while Miles obviously suffers from alcohol addiction, his illness does not seem to register with audiences, just as it is overlooked in the movie. Polly McCall, an alcohol and drug therapist in New York City, said many of her patients are appalled that all they hear people talk about is how funny the characters are in "Sideways," which has been nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture and best adapted screenplay.

McCall argued that there is a connection between all of Miles' imbibing and his considerable troubles, from finding it hard to get up in the morning to his failed relationships and money problems.

"When you're stealing from your mother, you're an alcoholic," she said, referring to one of the scenes.

"There's a societal denial that alcohol is a drug. Just substitute heroin and you could not have made that movie."
Complete Article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press

I agree. I said the other day that this was a movie about alcoholism- a side of the movie no one I have read has been willing to address. Rather I have seen a number of articles talking about the joys of wine-tasting that this movie portrays. Yet the movie makers knew what they were showing. There is one scene where Miles goes to make a phone call. The atmosphere, the camera work, the special effects all gave me a scary reminder of what it used to feel like. I leaned over to my daughter at that point and said, "I need an AA meeting." That was reality.

Not that this takes away from the brilliance of the movie. It may add to its long-term impact. But it is no Days of Wine and Roses or Leaving Las Vegas for a real portrayal of the depths of alcoholism.