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Bottle Shock fails to properly utilize the inspiring true tale at its core, settling instead for an ordinary, plodding account.
All Critics (120) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (63) | DVD (5)
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.
Rickman is priceless as the self-parodying wine snob, stealing every scene he is in by continually pulling the rug from under himself.
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.
Rickman 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.
Bottle Shock is a shameless grab at the yuppie audience that flocked to the similarly themed Sideways.
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.
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.
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.
"I really didn't care for the movie. It's just not my type of film; nor was I the right audience for it either. I still enjoyed bits of it. The acting is good by most and there was some funny moments too. Plus, just seeing Chris Pine in a blonde wig (I hope it was a wig) dancing around being a hippie was kinda worth it. Initially the actors are what drew me into seeing the film. I don't drink wine so the fascination and the different names and types were lost on me. I'm more of a whiskey kinda gal. So those of you who are a big fan of wine might like this much more then I ever will."
Super Reviewer
This is a nice little docu-dramedy concerning the turning point for California's wine industry. It's 1976 and a British wine snob named Steven Spurrier feels that no wine can compare to French wine. After hearing that Napa Valley has a growing industry, he decides to investigate, and see if these supposed hicks really have any idea what they're doing. He decides that a blind tasting to compare the California stock with France's finest is in order, but upon trying some of what California has to offer, he realizes there might actually be something promising with their offerings. 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.
Bottleshock is the story of the 1976 Paris Wine tasting and how a group of Winters from the Napa Valley in California outclassed the French Wines at the tasting. One of these wines is the now famous Chateau Montelena, the wine that beat the French. This film follows the story of Chateau Montelena as a British wine expert by the name of Steven Spurrier selects the best wines of the Napa Valley to compete against the best of the French. In his search, he is surprised at the quality of the wines and selects the Chateau Montelena along with a few other to compete. the Cheateau owner, Jim Barrett doesn't want to participate as he thinks it's a ploy to humiliate the Napa Valley vinters. However his son, Bo sends the bottles and ultimately is one of the wines selected to participate in the blind taste test. Bottle Shockj is a terrific film that blends comedy and drama, IU believe that this film has gotten a lot of unfair flack. Some people don't seem to realize how good this film really is. Sure, it's not flawless, but it's a well acted film about a very interesting, historical subject. Because after all the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting was a historical event, that changed the wine industry forever. The film has been said thats its less good than Sideways, well honestly, Sideways was overrated to the max and was a boring film that was a waste of a good cast. In my opinion, Bottle Shock is a superior film that shouldn't be dismissed so easily. A surprisingly good film.
i kinda liked it! i guess its not realy my cup of tea because of the story being entirely based on wine and about making or finding the perfect wine!! i loved alan rickman he was the best bit of the film for me to be honest he was funny and entertaining to watch!! Apart from alan rckman being funny this movie shouldnt be called a comedy because it just isnt that funny!! A mediocre movie thats bound to entertain someone!!
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