Arts
Ali G may be 'Indahouse,' but he's way off the mark
By Nicholas S. Desai | November 9, 2004The first feature film from the brilliant British comic turns out to be a sad disappointment
Nicholas S. Desai
Arts
'Sideways': Wine country with a full bouquet of characters
By Nicholas S. Desai | October 25, 2004Alexander Payne, filmmaker and self-proclaimed follower of film auteur ideal, visited the Hopkins Center Saturday night to receive the Dartmouth Film Award and to screen his latest film, "Sideways," a darker kind of romantic comedy that makes the adventures of middle-aged wine enthusiasts appealing even to late-adolescent Keystone enthusiasts. Payne's films explore subcultures, whether high school politics in "Election" or abortion activism in "Citizen Ruth." His ability to delineate well-known but rarely depicted situations is in full swing here as he takes on the humdrum existence of hotel living and briefly revisits the world of old people even more hilariously than "About Schmidt" does. The main culture portrayed in "Sideways" is that of a certain kind of Californian whose recreations include wine and divorce.