Two guys travel through wine country. Sleazy guy hooks up on the eve of his wedding; midlife-crisis guy babysits him while fretting over whether he can get a girl of his own. Funny movie. Not a non-stop laugh-fest, but still funny. And its sense of humor is tough to pin down. It runs the gamut from the dry (snobby anti-tourist jokes and self-deprecating remarks) to the outrageous (physical comedy with dumped wine, an ass shot that would have gone nicely with a low trombone note). When it's not being ha-ha funny, it's entertaining to watch Miles talk about wine, and to watch the actors and actresses portray plausible (not necessarily realistic) characters in mundane situations. It's caustic at times, but not as caustic as Payne's earlier movies, notably Election.

Some accused this movie of looking down its nose at the lower classes. There is indeed a scene that portrays a white trash love scene in far-less-than-flattering terms; folks in Slate Magazine's Movie Club believe that, along with depictions of elderly wine-country tourists, to be a stuck-up expression of distaste for the proletariat. It's a somewhat valid point, but given some of the other viewpoints found in the Movie Club, I think the authors saw themselves reflected in the love scene more than they saw an explicit damning of the lower class. The Physical Act Of Love doesn't exactly flatter Jack in his love scene, unless you like unchiseled asses. It was played as a comedy beat, just as it is between the long-haired tattooed biker and his waitress girlfriend. The sex act does not romanticize anyone, and is in reality extremely unflattering to witness anywhere other than movies. So I think the accusations of elitism are off-base.

One other thing worth mentioning is that the meatiest part of the movie, wine notwithstanding, relates to fidelity. While marital fidelity is treated so lightly, to the chagrin of every woman I know who has seen the movie, it actually highlights the issue of fidelity between friends. Jack does so many despicable, thoughtless, selfish things over the course of this movie, but in the end he still needs Miles' companionship and friendship. And while Miles suffers through each of Jack's indulgences, he doesn't abandon Jack in his time of need. Whether they are "right" to act as such is beside the point; friends are friends because they can abandon reason for each other. It's actually quite sweet.