I didn’t like Sideways. It was a movie about thoroughly unpleasant wine geeks who were full of self importance. I still don’t know how it ends because I got so infuriated with it I decided to switch off the DVD.Essentially, subjects such as wine shouldn’t be the main element of any Hollywood movie as it will inevitably turn people off. However, Bottle Shock (opening on March 20th in the UK) is a thoroughly enjoyable movie which, although set in a world of wine, doesn’t get too ‘geeky’ for the mainstream audience.
Set in 1976, it tells the story of The Judgement of Paris where Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman), a British wine merchant in Paris, decides to go to America to find wines that could take on the best France can offer in a blind tasting, all to promote his shop. He meets Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) who owns Chateau Montelena, and Spurrier is impressed by his Chardonnay, which ultimately triumphs in the white wine category. The story also centres on the turbulent relationship between Barrett and his son Bo (Chris Pine), who sees the merit of taking part in this competition, and how the senior family member appears to do everything to make sure his wine doesn’t succeed.
This isn’t a ‘wine movie’, but a movie that just happens to have wine region as a setting, and I think it is that which makes it so enjoyable. Certainly there is enough vinous related elements to keep an enthusiast happy, but the characters and the storyline are what makes this film very watchable. Pine, who will next be seen as James T Kirk in the new Star Trek movie, is excellent and delivers the best performance as the hippy who has to grow up to save his father’s vineyard. Rickman, as always, portrays the reserved, prickly Brit to perfection with a smattering of excellent comedic acting.
But it is the Jim Barrett character, portrayed by Bill Pullman, that stands out and not for positive reasons. He is portrayed as an annoying man who frustrates, not only his son Bo, but the viewer too. By the end of the movie, the short sightedness and arrogance of this character makes you want him to fail just as much as you want his son to succeed. The American flag waving, which you would expect from a USA vs France film, doesn’t get too much, but the French judges are certainly portrayed as a bit too arrogant and this does grate a little. But those are the only criticisms of any jingoism, and they are small.
Throw in a love battle between Bo and his friend Gustavo Brambila (Freddy Rodriguez) over the attractive intern Sam (Rachael Taylor), the underdog American wine makers winning the tasting, some glorious scenery and great cinematography and you get a feel-good movie that is a good, fun way to spend 109 minutes.
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