Movie Review: Bottle Shock

Caught Bottle Shock on Friday night after a summer of anticipation. I came away entertained. Given the bout of excitement leading up to the limited release, Bottle Shock had a lot to live up to. I was seriously looking forward to it, usually a recipe for disappointment.

Jody Savin & Randall Miller combined with Ross Schwartz on the screenplay. Their collective inexperience showed. The story meandered this way and that way, straddling the line between historical fiction and romantic dramedy. The finished product refused to take a side with either and suffered in turn. It was frustrating to watch the climax of the movie, not knowing to which side of the line it was to pay off, fizzle out and fade to black.

I, of course, wanted much more on how the Judgment of Paris came together. How did Steven Spurrier get all those judges together? Did he trouble being taken seriously? What went wrong? The romantic dramady I was instead given would have been just fine, but there were huge holes in story and character motivation. Characters jump from one angle to the next without compelling reason or need. People are happy, then they’re mad, then they’re tossing everything, then they’re back, here’s a funny vignette… maddening stuff. It’s screenplay 101.

The editing was completely disorienting at times. Sometimes a simple conversation would cut between several characters during one line. When the next line started, I was dizzy. It reminded me of horror movie jags inset to try and drive you crazy with anticipation like they do in Saw I-IV. It was a curious choice for a movie set mostly in California whose mountains and vineyards are as picturesque as can be.

The acting was solid as expected. Bill Pullman did his best “conflicted Bill Pullman.” Alan Rickman and Dennis Farina were great. Chris Pine, an actor with whose work I am largely unfamiliar, did a good job with the spacey but dedicated character of Bo Barrett. It was one of those performances where you look back at some of the other stuff the actor has done and you have a hard time believing it is the same guy.

The Wife really liked it and I came out giving it a shoulder shrug and a “yeah, sure, not bad” of appreciation. I’m being hard on it because I liked it and because I’m a movie snob. Movies that aren’t very good usually don’t compel me to write this many words on them, even on a blog where words are free. So that means one thing, a long blog post such as this means Bottle Shock is worth seeing in the theaters and especially on DVD. Don’t expect a lot about wine, and don’t expect too much fuss and feathers during the story. Just get a bag of popcorn and enjoy.

(100 point toss up to those still reading, what’s the best paring for popcorn with salt and butter?)