(With this movie, I've completed my essential viewing of all the
Best Picture Nominees for the 77th Annual Academy Awards, and this
review is one the most personal I've written)
Wine lovers unite! There isn't, in my recent memory, a show that
celebrates wine, vineyards and grapes, like this one does.
Scattered throughout as part of the narrative are so many wine
terms, vintage bottles, and wine tasting, that the amateur me can
find hard to grasp. Fear not though, as this show can still grow on
you.
We follow the road trip of 2 best buddies Miles and Jack, for a
week, down to the Californian vineyards, before Jack's marriage
when he gets back. Kinda like an extended bachelor's party, Miles'
idea of fun - that being long sessions of male bonding over wine
tasting sessions, rounds of golf, and more drinks over night time
chill out hours. However, Jack has a different idea of fun - that
of having final flings and sowing his wild oats before committing
himself to marriage.
So while we see clash of ideas and mindsets, their strong
friendship enables them to compromise and help each other during
the various scenarios they encounter in their road trip.
Essentially, this movie is also about relationships - that between
the 2 buddies, that between Jack and his "fling" Stephanie, who of
course he didn't tell that he's getting married once the week is
over, and that between Miles and Maya.
Which led me to identify with the 2 main male leads. Jack, the once
famous soap opera actor, lives his life by his instinct. He goes
with his gut and impulse, and enjoys a good time. My friends can
probably identify this part of me, the go-getter, the
thrill-seeker. However, this can sometimes lead you to sticky
situations, and you'll require your best buddies to bail you out of
the rut. Many hilarious moments arise from Jack's desperation in
getting laid, in getting Miles laid as well, and his deception
towards both his wife-to-be, and Stephanie. Unless he's
decapitated, he'll never learn his lesson, and would still want to
go for the final "kill" - the final scene of trouble that he gets
into, is one of the best in the movie.
Closer friends will probably see me in Miles, the struggling
writer, who still harbours feelings for his ex (wife that is). He
goes into a frenzy when Jack tells him his ex-wife has already
re-married. He is chronically depressed, that he screwed up his own
marriage. To make things worse, Jack has invited Miles' ex-wife and
new husband to his wedding ceremony, which led to Jack wanting to
back out of attending, well, almost, to avoid meeting the couple.
Jack's advice to Miles is to move on, and he will help him do so.
However, Miles just refuses to accept the fact, and allows
depression to slowly creep into all other aspects of his life,
severely affecting his confidence and attitude. Until of course, he
meets Maya, and starts to seriously think about starting
afresh.
Despite the slow introduction of about 10 minutes, the show picks
up pace once Miles and Jack hit the road. The down-to-earthness
characters and dialogue will draw you into the movie, though some
in the audience might think that the ending has left them hanging.
A word of caution - in my opinion, it's deliberately done so, for
YOU to decide what kinda ending YOU would prefer, and that will
depend on whether you're a Jack, or a Miles kinda person.
Don't let this underdog movie (amongst the other heavyweight Oscar
nominees) slip by, go catch it in a theatre near you!