In 1976, America's bicentennial year, the wine world was rocked by a blind tasting in which California wines were rated higher than French ones. It was a small revolution, but a potent one in certain circles."Bottle Shock" tells how that competition came about and what it did for the wines of Napa Valley and Sonoma. It's a significant tale that deserves a better film than this so-so one."Bottle Shock" suffers from three-pronged blandness courtesy of director-writer Randall Miller ("Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School") and actors Chris Pine ("Just My Luck") and Rachael Taylor ("Transformers"). Fortunately, another trio -- actors Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez -- fights valiantly to bring the movie to life.Hippie and college dropout Bo Barrett (Pine) isn't much help to his father, Jim (Pullman), who has put everything he has into his dream of crafting wines. Jim is close to losing his winery, Chateau Montelena, to the bank, but Bo is busy surfing, sleeping around and partying with friends.In Paris, Englishman and oenophile Steven Spurrier (Rickman) is having a hard time drawing customers to his wine shop. Inspired by neighbor and wine-drinker Maurice (Dennis Farina), Steven decides to investigate the rumors that Northern California vineyards are turning out great wines. He plans a wine-tasting competition in France as a publicity stunt.While his neighbors are excited about competing with French wines, cynical Jim thinks Steven is out to humiliate California's wine-makers, so he refuses to participate. Meanwhile, Bo gets jealous over the chemistry between pretty intern Sam (Taylor) and vineyard employee Gustavo (Rodriguez) and only belatedly focuses on becoming responsible.Though based on real people and events, "Bottle Shock" plays largely like second-rate fiction, especially where the younger characters are concerned. Focusing on Bo's coming-of-age journey as much as the wine saga is a bad move; Jim's underdeveloped backstory hints at being more interesting, and Pullman is a much better actor than Pine.Pine's emotional range mimics his ridiculous blond wig, which looks exactly the same throughout the film. Taylor comes off like a bed-hopping cheerleader for the wine community.Rickman lends quirkiness to the too-prosaic plotting in the script by Miller, Jody Savin and Ross Schwartz, and Rodriguez brings a sense of romanticism. Too bad "Bottle Shock" doesn't have a firmer flavor to go along with its intriguing bouquet.Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexual content and a scene of drug use.Three stars (out of five).(Contact Knoxville News Sentinel film critic Betsy Pickle at pickle(at)knews.com.)
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