Bottle Shock (2008)--2/5

All the hype over the new wave of 3D movies undersells the power of normal 2D movies. Every movie is already its own world to be lost in. They’ve been around—unchanged visually, more or less—for 100+ years.

(Uh oh. This preface for a mediocre film?)

When it works, “Bottle Shock” is a reminder of film’s power to make almost anything interesting to anyone else. The love for wine in this film—by the characters, the filmmakers, and the world—is palpable.

“Eat Drink Man Woman” has its tastes. “Perfume” has its scents. “Bottle Shock” successfully combines the two. The wine tasters’ snobbish, reverent comments and their idiosyncratic ways of inhaling and inspecting every sip convey a devoted culture. You can almost taste it.

I don’t even like wine.

Although based on a true story, only a few moments of “Bottle Shock” can be verified. In 1976, a British vintner traveled to California to choose wines for a blind taste-test in France. To everyone’s surprise (then, not to viewers of the film) the favorite chardonnay came from the Chateau MonteLena—an American winery. A bottle of the chardonnay, along with the American red wine that also won—is displayed in The Smithsonian.

The film’s added elements contrast adversely with the easygoing nature of wine culture. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), owner of the Chateau, irrationally acts like a butthead just to spice up the already interesting story.

And then there’s Sam (Rachael Taylor), the intern. She’s easy on the eyes—a sudsy “thresher washing” scene makes this abundantly clear. But she serves no purpose in this film. Scenes with Sam involve fighting, flashing, a love triangle, auto repair, and other things that don’t matter. “Bottle Shock” should be about wine, and little else.