Wine is probably the most boring subject on Earth, so how come Payne’s film about a lonely, bitter best man (Paul Giamatti) taking the soon-to-be-groom (Thomas Haden Church) on a week-long tour of vineyards is so bloody good? Perhaps because of Giamatti’s astonishing characterisation, which imbues an arrogant, self-destructive, self-hating pseud with a completely disarming humanity. Or perhaps because it’s not really about wine at all, but love and friendship and the choices that people make that end up deciding and defining their lives. It’s the antithesis of formula filmmaking: incredibly entertaining, but also about something, and featuring – quite unexpectedly – a handful of brilliant sight gags.

all i remember is my parents loved this movie but i was too young to watch it and it's their loss because if i did watch this when i was eight in 2004 and seen sandra oh looking like That maybe i'd still be straight and maybe we'd still be a family... oh well! time to open another pinot noir!

I am going to be directing the remake of this but instead of wine it will be about craft beer. It stars Shia LaBeouf and The Rock.

"Are you chewing gum?"

Road trip dramedy that consistently hits weirder, sadder off-beat notes in between the more traditionally funny hangout antics and sex comedy setpieces. Luckily there are few actors I would want to hang out with more than Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church so this was pretty delightful even when it got mean and bitter. Never considered that pretentious wine people might actually just be the most thin-skinned, temperamental and depressed people on Earth and that's why they invented a socially acceptable hobby to drown themselves.

who hurt alexander payne

me seeing paul giamatti in big fat liar at a sleepover when i was seven: fuck you bitch

me seeing paul giamatti in anything since then: i love you 🥺

Depression and Self-Loathing in Santa Barbara

It's refreshing to see a movie portray in such good light the tawdry behavior of an alcoholic loser and a sex-addict sociopath. Grab your mistress and a bottle of gin, sit back, and enjoy.

I thought this was gonna be funny but now I’m just sad

not to brag but my mom was at Yale at the same time as Paul Giamatti and one time he was drunk in her dorm common room