Shock and Flaw

I had been wanting to see "Bottle Shock" since Kevin Zraly mentioned it in wine class a few months ago. The movie is the "based on the true story" of Chateau Montelena in Napa beating the French in a blind tasting for the best white in Paris back in 1976. Bill Pullman plays Jim Barrett, the winning vintner, and the rest of the cast is name-brand: Alan Rickman, Freddy Rodriguez, Eliza Dushku, Chris Pine (before his star turn in "Star Trek," of course). I wish I could say I liked it, but the script was just so clunky and predictable. Maybe they were dumbing down a wine movie for the masses, but I was expecting something a little more sophisticated. "Bottle Shock" was at Sundance in 2008, and then seemingly went straight to DVD. This movie wasn't about the grape; it was pure corn.