is a 2009
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film directed by Cellin Gluck that is a remake of the 2004
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated film ''
Sideways
''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...
''. Unlike its predecessor that was set in the
Santa Barbara wine country, it is primarily set in the
Napa Valley wine region.
Plot
Michio Saito is a middle-aged Japanese
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
with little success. He is a former foreign student who returns to California to attend the wedding of his best friend, Daisuke Uehara, to an Alli, an American. Uehara is a former actor who has lived in California since college and is now a
restaurant manager
Restaurant management is the profession of managing a restaurant. Associate, bachelor, and graduate degree programs are offered in restaurant management by community colleges, junior colleges
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially a ...
.
Before the wedding, the two men take one last bachelor trip to the Napa Valley wine country,
where they meet a woman that Saito once tutored and admired, Mayuko Tanaka, and her barista friend, Mina Parker. Tanaka and Saito rekindle their acquaintance, and Parker and Uehara become romantically entangled.
Cast
The actors include:
*
Fumiyo Kohinata
is a Japanese actor.
Filmography
Film
* ''Begging for Love'' (1998)
* ''Give It All'' (1998)
* ''Ring 2'' (1999) - Dr. Kawajiri
* ''Audition'' (1999) - Television producer
* ''Minna no Ie'' (2001)
* '' Turn'' (2001)
* ''Dark Water'' (2002) - K ...
as Michio Saito
*
Katsuhisa Namase
is a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television dramas. His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incomp ...
as Daisuke Uehara
*
Kyôka Suzuki as Mayuko Tanaka
*
Rinko Kikuchi
(born ; January 6, 1981) is a Japanese actress. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in ''Babel'' (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include '' Norwegian Wood'' (2010), which sc ...
as Mina Parker
*
Anna Easteden
Anna Easteden (born 29 November 1976) is a Finnish-American actress. Her film appearances include ''The House of Branching Love'' (2009) and ''Sideways'' (2009). She is known for her performance as "Bee Sting" in ''Who Wants to Be a Superher ...
as Alli
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saidoweizu
2009 films
2009 comedy-drama films
2000s road comedy-drama films
20th Century Fox films
American road comedy-drama films
Films about wine
Films set in California
Films shot in California
English-language Japanese films
Fuji TV
Japanese remakes of American films
Japanese road comedy-drama films
Midlife crisis films
2000s Japanese-language films
2000s English-language films
2009 multilingual films
Japanese multilingual films
American multilingual films
2000s American films
2000s Japanese films
Films produced by Kazutoshi Wadakura