> Bottle Shock
Director: Randall Miller
Cast: Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodríguez, Dennis Farina, Eliza Dushku.
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
Reviewed by Mark Orton
Writer-director Randall Miller has been gifted true tailor-made tension (it's based on a real events), but spoils it with miscued romantic schmaltz, cheesy '70s details and an odd comment on immigration.
Sort of like Sideways meets The Dukes of Hazzard; Bottle Shock never quite decides what it is.
Alan Rickman (Steven Spurrier) is excellent as a British wine snob.
Based in Paris and struggling to permeate indigenous grape disciples, Spurrier heads to the Napa Valley to select some new world wines to compete in a blind taste test against a hand-picked French selection.
What sets out as a feel-good yarn about rebels storming the institution, dissipates into a confused romantic triage.
Bottle Shock works best when the emphasis lands squarely on the vintage.
There are enough fascinating viticulture asides to sustain the primary son-usurps-father through line, without forcing further undeveloped threads.
Full marks for the feel-good factor though.
Who would have thought that a chardonnay could elicit that much emotion?
Best thing: The scenery; surely most of the budget must have been spent on the sumptuous aerials.
Worst thing: Cringe-worthy romantic interludes.
See it with: A dedicated follower of flavour.
