Description

Laci and Matt take a trip to Santa Barbara County, California, for a glass (or 12!) of wine with their favorite pinot-slurping pals: Miles (Paul Giamatti), Jack (Thomas Haden Church), Maya (Virginia Madsen), Stephanie (Sandra Oh), and a friendly flock of ostriches. That's right, people, we spent the week with Sideways (2004), Alexander Payne's hilarious look at two codependent losers who have one of cinema's all-time great friendships. 

Next week (April 3, 2026): 1-Week Rental's official SEX MONTH begins with a podcast about Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015)!

Time stamps:

• 00:08:45 — History segment: Author Rex Pickett (the real-life Miles) writes a book; it gets adapted by Alexander Payne; the wine industry will never be the same; the little-known Sideways Extended Universe
• 00:44:00 — Movie discussion
• 02:06:00 — Final thoughts & star ratings

Sources:

• "Taste of Success" by Oliver Burkeman | The Guardian (2004) - https://bit.ly/4lNhSfY 
• "A drink with… Rex Pickett" by Jonathan Cristaldi | Decanter (2024) - https://bit.ly/4rUAegu
• "The Hitching Post Toasts 20 Years of the Surprise Hit SIDEWAYS" by Bonnie Graves | Golden State (2024) - https://bit.ly/3NVTv3j 
• "'The Sideways Effect': How A Wine-Obsessed Film Reshaped The Industry" by Kristen Hartke | NPR (2017) - https://n.pr/4uPQbr7
• "The Full Giamatti" by Scott Raab | Esquire (2007) - https://bit.ly/4t61ZDR 
• "They're still toasting 'Sideways' in Santa Barbara wine country" by Hugo Martin | The Los Angeles Times (2009) - https://lat.ms/4bHpxb6
• "After 20 years, 'Sideways' has aged like a fine . . . well, you know" by Rob Thomas | Not That Rob Thomas (2024) - https://bit.ly/4t8niVo 

Transcript: https://1weekrentalpod.com/2026/03/sideways-2004/#transcript 

Artwork by Laci Roth.  

Check out Laci's coloring videos on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-kKLhWb2g0bKA-RrvvLh0Q/ 

Matt has a monthly spin-off podcast covering the James Bond films! Check out PodJob: A James Bond Podcast on Apple Podcast (https://bit.ly/4jRL2K1), Spotify (https://bit.ly/4a8jM6E), and YouTube (https://youtube.com/@podjob007).

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

• "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM
• "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg
• "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ 

Follow the show! 

• Twitter: @1weekrental | @MattStokes9 | @LRothConcepts
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• Instagram: @1weekrental
• TikTok: @1weekrental | @mattstokes9
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1-Week Rental used to be Load Bearing Beams.