Bottle Shock
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley.
11 July 1984, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
8 February 1945, Brooklyn, New York, USA
16 November 1951, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
26 September 1979, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
8 December 1952, Troy, Michigan, USA
17 January 1975, Chicago, Illinois, USA
18 June 1987, Solano County, California, USA
5 November 1958, Chicago, Illinois, USA
October 20, 1983 in Fremont, California, USA
9 September 1958, Los Angeles, California, USA
September 23, 1988 in Stockton, California, USA
1952
24 May 1971, Paris, France
9 September 1952, New York City, New York, USA
29 February 1944, Chicago, Illinois, USA
10 October 1959, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
May 28, 1960 in Corcoran, California, USA
March 28, 2009
Bottle Shock is one of those cockle-warming, feel-good underdog films in the tradition of Strictly Ballroom. Only in this case Scott and Fran are, respectively, a Chardonnay with tangerine undertones, and a Cabernet Merlot blend.
March 27, 2009
Predictable in its moves, it's engaging enough, though it has nowhere near the characterisation, say, of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church in Sideways.
April 10, 2009
As a rather strenuous attempt at a feel-good movie, Bottle Shock falls a long way short of the mark.
August 15, 2008
Unfortunately, Miller can't decide whether he's doing a relationship movie or one about the intrigue of world-class winemaking. Mingling the two left me with a somewhat sour aftertaste.
August 14, 2009
It doesn't exactly come off as boxed wine to the top-shelf sensibilities of Sideways, but there's not enough story or heart for it to capture the same lightning in a bottle.
August 14, 2008
Its heart is so in the right place and its tableau so appealing that it's easy to come away from this sweet, scrappy film with a nice little buzz.
August 22, 2008
Rickman adds a welcome astringency.
April 03, 2009
It's not in the same league as Sideways but it has a fragrant sense of the beauty of wine and winemaking, not just the drinking.
August 15, 2008
Bottle Shock is... utterly charming.
December 24, 2009
With much loving, longing gazing at the Napa Valley landscape, it's awfully good-looking, if you can discount the high-waisted bell-bottoms and the homely yellow AMC Gremlin that wheezes into scenes every once in a while.
August 22, 2008
The people who made Bottle Shock obviously love their wine. They're not that crazy about the French. And they are firm believers in the screenwriting rule of leaving no underdog-formula cliché unused.
