Bottle Shock (2009)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 118
Fresh: 57 | Rotten: 61
Bottle Shock fails to properly utilize the inspiring true tale at its core, settling instead for an ordinary, plodding account.
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 16
Bottle Shock fails to properly utilize the inspiring true tale at its core, settling instead for an ordinary, plodding account.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 18,285
My Rating
Movie Info
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect
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Cast
-
Alan Rickman
Steven Spurrier -
Chris Pine
Bo Barrett -
Bill Pullman
Jim Barrett -
Rachael Taylor
Sam Fulton -
Freddy Rodriguez
Gustavo Brambilia -
Dennis Farina
Maurice Cantavale -
Bradley Whitford
Professor Saunders -
Miguel Sandoval
Mr. Garcia -
Eliza Dushku
Joe -
Hal B. Klein
Shenky -
Kirk Baily
Loan Officer -
Philippe Bergeron
Pierre Tari -
Louis Giambalvo
George Taber -
Greg Collins
Trucker -
Luis Saguar
Man #1 -
James Hiser
Man #2 -
Geoff Callan
Man #3 -
Marcia Firesten
Karen Thompson -
Matthew Kimbrough
Michael Robbins -
Laurie O'Brien
Laura -
Kathy McGraw
Ms. Relyea -
Joe Regalbuto
Bill -
Al Liner
Hotel Clerk -
Deborah O'Brien
TWA Attendent -
Brian Leonard
Passenger #1 -
Karl-Heinz Teuber
German Passenger -
Maximilienne Ewalt
Passenger #2 -
Frank Avila
Field Hand -
Richard Gross
Lt. Randall -
Mary Pat Gleason
Marge -
Valerie Long
Vinter #2 -
James Carraway
Vinter #3 -
Marian Filali
Odette Kahn -
Phillipe Simon
Claude Dubois-Millot -
Andre Tardieu
Upscale Man -
Jody Savin
Upscale Woman -
Mark Famiglietti
Waiter -
Randall Miller
Patron -
Roy Jimenez
Shopkeeper -
Jean-Michel Richaud
mâitre d', mâitre d', ...
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Bottle Shock Trailer & Photos
All Critics (121) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (61) | DVD (6)
The people who made Bottle Shock obviously love their wine. They're not that crazy about the French. And they are firm believers in the screenwriting rule of leaving no underdog-formula cliché unused.
Top CriticRickman adds a welcome astringency.
Bottle Shock is... utterly charming.
Unfortunately, Miller can't decide whether he's doing a relationship movie or one about the intrigue of world-class winemaking. Mingling the two left me with a somewhat sour aftertaste.
Comedy and drama are nicely balanced in this mostly true tale.
Its heart is so in the right place and its tableau so appealing that it's easy to come away from this sweet, scrappy film with a nice little buzz.
With much loving, longing gazing at the Napa Valley landscape, it's awfully good-looking, if you can discount the high-waisted bell-bottoms and the homely yellow AMC Gremlin that wheezes into scenes every once in a while.
Comedy about wine rivalry blends fun, heart.
It doesn't exactly come off as boxed wine to the top-shelf sensibilities of Sideways, but there's not enough story or heart for it to capture the same lightning in a bottle.
As a rather strenuous attempt at a feel-good movie, Bottle Shock falls a long way short of the mark.
It's not in the same league as Sideways but it has a fragrant sense of the beauty of wine and winemaking, not just the drinking.
Bottle Shock is one of those cockle-warming, feel-good underdog films in the tradition of Strictly Ballroom. Only in this case Scott and Fran are, respectively, a Chardonnay with tangerine undertones, and a Cabernet Merlot blend.
Predictable in its moves, it's engaging enough, though it has nowhere near the characterisation, say, of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church in Sideways.
Predictable, corny, schmaltzy, inane, unfunny, flat, sentimental and utterly fatuous. Most of the acting is bad, and none of the characters are interesting. Watching it is about as culturally rewarding as actually getting drunk, and less fun.
In the same way Good Night And Good Luck sends you hurtling for whisky and a Malboro, and Sideways prompts a pining for pinot noir, Bottle Shock will have you craving a chilled glass of Californian chardonnay.
Rickman is priceless as the self-parodying wine snob, stealing every scene he is in by continually pulling the rug from under himself.
It's a triumph of the underdog film, but what it does have is a simply delicious performance by Alan Rickman, who does resigned disdain like no one else on screen.
It's easy to take, enjoyable and escapist, and while it celebrates Californian wine making, it doesn't disparage the French.
. Like the chardonnay at the heart of the story, Bottle Shock is light with good body and plenty of flavour. It's also uplifting and amusing. In short, it makes you feel good.
Alan Rickman plays the British wine expert who sponsors the test and is at his most comically feline. It's a great film about passion, eccentricity, families and... wine
Audience Reviews for Bottle Shock
Super Reviewer
I was surprised by this. I didn't really know what to expect, but I found it rather enjoyable. Thankfully it's not a rip off of Sideways, just a different take on the some subject. Plus, this one's based on true events, and though it may be a formulaic and predictable underdog story, that doesn't mean it's no less a joy to watch.
I think it may have been better had it been a miniseries, as that would have allowed for all of the California vintners to be fully developed and profiled, instead of just a select few, but the gets across anyway. Alan Rickman is great though a bit on the nose as Spurrier. Bill Pullman is quite good as vintner Jim Barrett, and Chris Pine is a scene stealing delight as his hippie son Bo.
The film might not be anything fresh or outstanding, but it's nevertheless a nice little offering.
Super Reviewer
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Latest News on Bottle Shock
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January 24, 2008:
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