It's been four years since Sideways showed us how beautiful the Napa Valley is, and reminded us of the horrors of merlot, so it seems to be about time for another visit to California's wine region. That movie is so associated with California wine in my mind that every time I think of the upcoming Bottle Shock, I automatically assume Paul Giamatti is involved. He's not, of course-- two movies about wine in one career?-- but based on the new trailer for the movie, he won't be missed, either.
The trailer, available at Apple.com, introduces us to Jim (Bill Pullman) and Bo (Chris Pine) Barrett, two hippie winemakers living in California in the 1970s. Bill is convinced his wine is good enough to go up against French wine, the long-held standard in the industry, but doesn't get a chance to prove it until British wine shop owner Steven Spurrier (no, not the football coach-- can you really see Alan Rickman playing a football coach?) decides to host a competition pitting French and California wines against each other.
As stuffy as the wine industry may seem, Bottle Shock appears to be a comedy, with lots of jokes at the expense of California hippies and the pretentious French. Pullman and Rickman are two actors who just get better and better as they get older, and seem to be having a lot of fun playing against each other. And Pine is being groomed for major star status with his role in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, but you can catch him here with some seriously silly long California hair.
Bottle Shock comes out on August 6, and even though Head Honcho Josh Tyler wasn't too crazy about it when he saw it at Sundance, I'm hoping it'll be good enough taht we don't keep confusing it with Sideways.
