2) Sideways
Alexander Payne’s work was pretty well regarded before Sideways, but in 2004 that movie took his reputation to another level. Here we had one of the funniest movies of the year that was also a surprisingly sweet story of friendship and a heartfelt counterargument to curmudgeonhood.
The film moves along nicely, laying the groundwork of the relationship between the Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church characters, as well as their individual motivations, with Giamatti’s Miles taking center stage as the jaded writer seeking refuge in his own pretensions. The two are so different in their interests and sensibilities that there’s a good portion of the movie where we’re left to wonder why they’re even friends in the first place, or more specifically, why Miles would even continue to hang out with Jack.
Then Jack has his big scene, and to paraphrase Nick Frost, the shit gets real. Jack leaves his wallet behind after hooking up with a waitress, and his wedding rings with it. Up to this point Jack doesn’t have too many redeeming qualities aside from being amusing and generally good-natured. But in this one scene, we see him completely break down, expressing his need to retrieve those rings so he can maintain his relationship with his fiancée.
It runs counter to everything he’s been saying up to this point in the film, but he does it with such vulnerability and desperation that we can help but feel the deepest sympathy for him. He’s an idiot but how can you not feel for someone in such a pathetic state? A perfectly-timed cutaway to Giamatti’s softening face drives the emotion of the scene home, and makes the rest of the movie matter even more, which in turn makes it more absurd and funny, all thanks to this simple yet devastating scene.