Bottle Shock (2008)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Randall Miller

Writers (WGA):

Jody Savin (screenplay) &
Randall Miller (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Based on a true story of love, victory and fermentation.

Plot:

The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris".

Plot Keywords:

Wine | Wine Making | Airport | Paris France | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Chris Pine	...	Bo Barrett
Alan Rickman	...	Steven Spurrier
Bill Pullman	...	Jim Barrett
Rachael Taylor	...	Sam
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Gustavo Brambila
Dennis Farina	...	Maurice
Eliza Dushku	...	Joe
Miguel Sandoval	...	Mr. Garcia
Bradley Whitford	...	Professor Saunders
Joe Regalbuto	...	Bill
Hal B. Klein	...	Shenky
Kirk Baily	...	Loan Officer
Phillipe Simon	...	Claude Dubois-Millot
Philippe Bergeron	...	Pierre Tari
Jean-Pierre Gillain	...	Pierre Brejoux

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Buena Vista Vinyards - 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma, California, USA

Company:

Shocking Bottle

Trivia:

Montgomery Paulsen, who plays an uncredited role as the wine store patron, is a professional winemaker by trade.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the "fixed" tasting at the bar, bar codes can be seen on the bottle labels. Bar codes were not printed on wine bottles in 1976, of course.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bo Barrett: [voice-over during a vineyard pan] It wasn't always like this. Before Paris, people didn't drink our wine. I mean, my friends did. But you could hardly consider their palates discerning...
Bo Barrett: Hell, we were farmers... sort of...
[pan to empty bottles of Montelena label and several early twenties/late teens smoking hookah]

Movie Connections:

References What Price Glory (1926)

Bottle Shock: The Sideways of 2008

I recently got a chance to see Bottle Shock and I have to say I thought it was great. It's really charming and interesting in a very different way from Sideways, although because of all the beautiful Napa Valley photography, it still reminded me of it. It also has great characters and hilarious moments the way that film does. I highly recommend this film.

Based on a true story, it chronicles how California wine makers became serious contenders in the world competition of wine-- an honor previously assumed to be rewarded always to the French. It centers around a town of quirky up and coming wine makers, each with their own challenges to face. It's got a great cast, including Bill Pullman, Chris Pine, Freddie Rodriguez, Rachel Taylor, Eliza Dushku and the hilarious Alan Rickman. Rickman plays an English wine seller in France who's desperate to find the best wines to sell in his store. He travels to California to see if the rumors are true about California's wines. His performance alone is worth seeing this.

It's a charming, heartwarming movie that I think will do very well when it opens 8/8. Check it out, you wont be disappointed.

9/10