Sideways is hard to pin down. In some ways, it is just pure farce. The middle-aged playboy is skewered mercilessly, but the plot twists that revolve around his "romances" on the road are a riot, and he seems almost immune to shame or self-reflection. Meanwhile, his traveling partner is obsessively self-reflective, even though all this self-awareness doesn't seem to be very productive for him. His uptight reactions to the playboy's ridiculous "shenanigans" make for a very funny movie if you aren't prudish (it's pretty graphic, and not real pretty at times!). But somehow in the middle of all the farce, there are moments of real emotional honesty that don't seem forced and don't upset the generally comedic mood of the piece. I don't know of another movie that balances farce and seriousness so well. The movie made me laugh from beginning to end, but I still cared about the two main characters in the end. They were ridiculous, but not objects of ridicule.
