Bottle Shock, we learn early on, is or resembles the equivalent of jet lag for wine, but lasts longer than for humans. It is what can happen when wine is transported as cargo rather than as carry-on.
The movie is set in the bicentennial year, 1976, in California and France. Bill Pullman (Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping) plays Jim Barrett, a former lawyer turned proprietor of a Napa Valley winery in shaky financial condition. He is assisted by son Bo, played by Chris Pine, who is something of a hybrid surfer-hippie without college ambitions. Father-son arguments are taken to an outdoor boxing ring. Gustavo, played by Freddy Rodriguez (the bus boy in Bobby), is a hired hand who has grown up locally and has dirt and grapes in his blood. Rachael Taylor has the role of Sam, who signs on as an intern. Eliza Dushku's character, Joe, owns a bar in the nearby community of Calistoga. Miguel Sandoval (Blow) plays a small-time Hispanic grape grower who favors Maria Callas records. Bradley Whitford (Josh in West Wing) has a bit part as a straw-hatted university agriculture professor.
Meanwhile, in France, Alan Rickman (Sense and Sensibility, the Harry Potter series) plays Steven Spurrier, the British proprietor of L'Academie du Vin, which has as its goals (1) selling wine to customers and/or (2) educating them in fine wine appreciation and palate cultivation. If there were any clients, that is. Owner of the next-door Paris limousine tour service is Maurice from Milwaukee, played by Dennis Farina (Law & Order). He enjoys camaraderie with the Englishman, and the wine that goes with the camaraderie, but chides him for shortcomings of business promotion and an inventory that's too French and absent a "global context." An idea hatches to address both such problems, and Mr. Spurrier travels to California.
This is my favorite American movie of 2008, hands down, and reportedly was a big hit at the Sundance festival. As directed by Randall Miller, it has a rural flavor reminiscent of films by Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer) and Victor Nunez (Ruby in Paradise and Ulee's Gold). Pullman is truly outstanding, and Rickman likewise achieves a career best. Rodriguez is good, and undoubtedly we will welcome seeing more of Pine and Taylor in the future. The musical score is appealing. Farina's character, and his wardrobe, are a riot. (Or was it a scream? I can't remember my seventies lingo.)
The movie is set in the bicentennial year, 1976, in California and France. Bill Pullman (Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping) plays Jim Barrett, a former lawyer turned proprietor of a Napa Valley winery in shaky financial condition. He is assisted by son Bo, played by Chris Pine, who is something of a hybrid surfer-hippie without college ambitions. Father-son arguments are taken to an outdoor boxing ring. Gustavo, played by Freddy Rodriguez (the bus boy in Bobby), is a hired hand who has grown up locally and has dirt and grapes in his blood. Rachael Taylor has the role of Sam, who signs on as an intern. Eliza Dushku's character, Joe, owns a bar in the nearby community of Calistoga. Miguel Sandoval (Blow) plays a small-time Hispanic grape grower who favors Maria Callas records. Bradley Whitford (Josh in West Wing) has a bit part as a straw-hatted university agriculture professor.
Meanwhile, in France, Alan Rickman (Sense and Sensibility, the Harry Potter series) plays Steven Spurrier, the British proprietor of L'Academie du Vin, which has as its goals (1) selling wine to customers and/or (2) educating them in fine wine appreciation and palate cultivation. If there were any clients, that is. Owner of the next-door Paris limousine tour service is Maurice from Milwaukee, played by Dennis Farina (Law & Order). He enjoys camaraderie with the Englishman, and the wine that goes with the camaraderie, but chides him for shortcomings of business promotion and an inventory that's too French and absent a "global context." An idea hatches to address both such problems, and Mr. Spurrier travels to California.
This is my favorite American movie of 2008, hands down, and reportedly was a big hit at the Sundance festival. As directed by Randall Miller, it has a rural flavor reminiscent of films by Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer) and Victor Nunez (Ruby in Paradise and Ulee's Gold). Pullman is truly outstanding, and Rickman likewise achieves a career best. Rodriguez is good, and undoubtedly we will welcome seeing more of Pine and Taylor in the future. The musical score is appealing. Farina's character, and his wardrobe, are a riot. (Or was it a scream? I can't remember my seventies lingo.)