Making a true story entertaining takes effort from writers, directors, and stars alike. The 2008 film “Bottle Shock” manages to hit perfectly on all three marks, presenting to the viewer a fascinating, entertaining, and thoroughly fun movie that’s based on an event one would hardly consider exciting or entertaining; the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting contest.
Writer/director Randall Miller (who self distributed the movie which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008) mixes dual plot lines and characters that eventually intersect, acted by a host of outstanding and perfectly selected talent. Late icons Alan Rickman and Dennis Farina, veteran Bill Pullman, and youngsters Chris Pine and Rachael Taylor manage to perfectly embody their respective roles.
Steven Spurrier (Rickman) is a British wine shop owner who operates a financially desperate store in Paris. To boost sales for the shop, the typically snooty Spurrier decides to conduct a wine tasting event that will pit the long tenured French powerhouses against rising US wineries based in California.
Across the pond in the not-yet-famous Napa Valley, Jim Barrett (Pullman) owns the struggling Chateau Montelena winery, which he runs with his unmotivated son Bo (Pine). Bo is the quintessential ’70s era surfer looking slacker, complete with long shaggy blonde hair and constant bubbly outlook on life.
While we watch the overly sophisticated Spurrier bring unintentional humor to the film – struggling to change a tire on the side of the road or getting his first taste of KFC, Jim has a more serious story with the winery quickly bleeding his bank account dry and further straining relations with his son.
Bill Pullman is wonderful in the role of Jim Barrett. One scene shows the character at the literal rock bottom of his failing business, yet refusing to accept money as gift from his wealthy ex-wife. Barrett is so prideful he would sooner sink on his own than take a handout. Operating the winery isn’t just a job; for Jim Barrett it’s his dream.
Equally impressive is Chris Pine as Bo. Pine has recently seen a surge in his career with roles in the rebooted “Star Trek” series, and “Bottle Shock” is a look into one of his first staring performances. The stateside cast is filled out with Eliza Dushku as a local pub owner, Rachael Taylor as an intern at the vineyard, and Freddy Rodriguez as Bo’s friend and wine tasting expert.
Never to be outdone is the late Alan Rickman. Rickman is perfect as an aristocratic Englishman who operates a French winery. The by the books and stuffy Steven Spurrier is always dressed impeccably, even when tramping around in a muddy Napa grape field, and embodies upperclassman by his eyes closed swishing of wine (before always spitting out). After meeting Barrett and concluding the American doesn’t like him, Spurrier sums up the reason with a hysterical explanation. “It’s because you think I’m an arsehole. And I’m not, really. I’m just British and, well… you’re not.”
Adding to the humor is Dennis Farina as Maurice, a wine lover from Milwaukee who runs a business next door and spends most of his day at the end of Spurrier’s bar, sampling the various wines put forth and often neglecting to pay.
A genuine friendship is demonstrated between the two men, with the result being laughs from both.
“Bottle Shock” focuses on the forming of bonds and relationships, from the heavily strained father son pair of Jim and Bo to Spurrier’s prejudice against all things American. Each character goes through a stage of growth and maturation, much like the wine they are producing, as they open up to new challenges and experiences.
“Bottle Shock” is a fun movie that’s well acted and informative. You wont be able to watch without wanting to pop the cork on your favorite bottle of wine.
by – Matt Christopher
