On Thursday I had my mind set on seeing Tropic Thunder this weekend, but then a coworker who knows me all too well said, "I'm surprised you're not going to see Bottle Shock." I had never heard of Bottle Shock before the Hamster mentioned it to me, so she told me that it was about wine. She knows I liked the movie Sideways, so she thought I would like Bottle Shock too. On Friday, I found a review of it in the Advertiser's TGIF section, and my interest was further piqued by seeing that Alan Rickman is the star of the movie. Somehow I developed a little crush on him after seeing him as Snape in the Harry Potter movies, so I find myself interested in other movies he's been in.
Anyway, on to the movie...I was even more pleased to see some of the names listed in the opening credits. For example, Bradley Whitford -- unless you've watched West Wing, or the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you probably don't know who he is, but suffice it to say that he's a good actor and I would love to see him in more substantial movie roles than he's had so far. I was also surprised to see Dennis Farina listed in the credits!
Apparently Bottle Shock is based on a true story of the up and coming wine of Napa Valley in the mid-1970s. Rickman portrays Steven Spurrier, a Brit who owns a shop in France that specializes in educating people about wine. However, this business doesn't seem very successful, as the only person who ever seems to be in the shop is Maurice (Farina), an American who seems to be trying to get as much free wine as he can get. However, it is Maurice that points out that Spurrier needs to change his marketing technique.
In the mean time, in Napa Valley, we see Bill Pullman's character, Jim Barrett, and his very unmotivated son Bo, struggling to run Chateau Montelena. Spurrier shows up in Napa looking to find some decent California wine. As we see with his exchange with Jim, Spurrier expects California wine to be mediocre at best. The dialogue between the two of them is hilarious and is probably the funniest part of the movie.
After Spurrier selects what he thinks is the best wine in California, he sets out to organize a tasting in France, where everyone thinks that if it isn't French, it isn't real wine. Spurrier wants to show people that there is more to the wine-tasting world than just French wine. Jim thinks the whole thing is rigged and that Spurrier just wants to make a fool out of him and everyone else in Napa, but Bo thinks that Spurrier should be given a chance, leading to some deeper issues where Bo gets to prove that he can be motivated.
The above is probably the strongest part of the story, and what happens during the Paris wine tasting is predictable, but still funny. What I felt was weak, and maybe even unnecessary, was the love story in the movie. There is an intern, Sam, who arrives, and while she kind of adds to the story, the love triangle between her, Bo, and Gustavo (played by Freddy Rodriguez, who has been on Ugly Betty -- he's the one I'm routing for in the Ugly Betty triangle, but I don't think things are going to go my way with that one), is weak. While the storyline about Gustavo is interesting, I don't think they developed it as well as they could have.
Some other underdeveloped and underused characters are Mr. Garcia (played by Miguel Sandoval who is the District Attorney on Medium) and Professor Saunders (Whitford). I was sad that Whitford only appeared for a brief minute or two. I felt that if they were going to do that, they might as well have just got a no-name actor to play that role! What a waste of good talent. At least Sandoval got a little more time and humor made his character stand out more.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie, especially knowing that it is based on fact. Since I went to Napa Valley last year, I have a better appreciation of it. Also, this movie touches upon accepting payment for wine tastings, something that is quite common now, but was almost unheard of in the mid-70s. That part is kind of funny too. While I wished some of the characters were better developed, and I felt like maybe they overedited the movie or something, I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to see something rather light-hearted and who has an appreciation for wine.
Anyway, on to the movie...I was even more pleased to see some of the names listed in the opening credits. For example, Bradley Whitford -- unless you've watched West Wing, or the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you probably don't know who he is, but suffice it to say that he's a good actor and I would love to see him in more substantial movie roles than he's had so far. I was also surprised to see Dennis Farina listed in the credits!
Apparently Bottle Shock is based on a true story of the up and coming wine of Napa Valley in the mid-1970s. Rickman portrays Steven Spurrier, a Brit who owns a shop in France that specializes in educating people about wine. However, this business doesn't seem very successful, as the only person who ever seems to be in the shop is Maurice (Farina), an American who seems to be trying to get as much free wine as he can get. However, it is Maurice that points out that Spurrier needs to change his marketing technique.
In the mean time, in Napa Valley, we see Bill Pullman's character, Jim Barrett, and his very unmotivated son Bo, struggling to run Chateau Montelena. Spurrier shows up in Napa looking to find some decent California wine. As we see with his exchange with Jim, Spurrier expects California wine to be mediocre at best. The dialogue between the two of them is hilarious and is probably the funniest part of the movie.
After Spurrier selects what he thinks is the best wine in California, he sets out to organize a tasting in France, where everyone thinks that if it isn't French, it isn't real wine. Spurrier wants to show people that there is more to the wine-tasting world than just French wine. Jim thinks the whole thing is rigged and that Spurrier just wants to make a fool out of him and everyone else in Napa, but Bo thinks that Spurrier should be given a chance, leading to some deeper issues where Bo gets to prove that he can be motivated.
The above is probably the strongest part of the story, and what happens during the Paris wine tasting is predictable, but still funny. What I felt was weak, and maybe even unnecessary, was the love story in the movie. There is an intern, Sam, who arrives, and while she kind of adds to the story, the love triangle between her, Bo, and Gustavo (played by Freddy Rodriguez, who has been on Ugly Betty -- he's the one I'm routing for in the Ugly Betty triangle, but I don't think things are going to go my way with that one), is weak. While the storyline about Gustavo is interesting, I don't think they developed it as well as they could have.
Some other underdeveloped and underused characters are Mr. Garcia (played by Miguel Sandoval who is the District Attorney on Medium) and Professor Saunders (Whitford). I was sad that Whitford only appeared for a brief minute or two. I felt that if they were going to do that, they might as well have just got a no-name actor to play that role! What a waste of good talent. At least Sandoval got a little more time and humor made his character stand out more.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie, especially knowing that it is based on fact. Since I went to Napa Valley last year, I have a better appreciation of it. Also, this movie touches upon accepting payment for wine tastings, something that is quite common now, but was almost unheard of in the mid-70s. That part is kind of funny too. While I wished some of the characters were better developed, and I felt like maybe they overedited the movie or something, I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to see something rather light-hearted and who has an appreciation for wine.
No comments:
Post a Comment