"Bottle Shock": No matter how far you tip it, there's no wit in sight

Just because a movie is energetic doesn't mean it can't feel sluggish. Case in point: "Bottle Shock," an exposition-heavy comedy/drama that seems to spin itself into exhaustion. It's loosely based on a 1976 European wine-tasting contest that ended with Napa Valley wines the unexpected winner.

Since the conclusion is foregone, the filmmakers rely on a strong cast to maintain interest and carry the narrative for a couple of hours. It isn't enough. Nor are the tedious inventions of the screenplay, which comes across less as an expansion of a true story and more as a self-congratulatory fairy tale.

Alan Rickman has some snooty fun with the role of a British wine-shop owner, based in Paris, who sets the plot in motion when he visits California (watch him daintily try to maneuver his way through a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken). But it ends up an easy caricature, undeserving of the Golden Space Needle award he won for this performance a couple of months ago at the Seattle International Film Festival.

While Freddy Rodriguez also shines in a scene in which his character demonstrates a knack for identifying wines by taste, it's hard to make something compelling out of a listless triangle involving Rodriguez, Rachael Taylor and Chris Pine (who will be the young Capt. Kirk in next year's "Star Trek" movie).

Although the actors invite the audience to care, it makes absolutely no difference who winds up sleeping with whom. If you're interested in watching Pine find his inner Shatner, or Taylor try to locate a character other than "sexy blonde" to play, that may keep you occupied for a while.

The filmmakers too often mistake high spirits for the kind of wit that made something special out of another wine-tasting tale, "Sideways." They appear to be most interested in concentrating on an awfully familiar father-son relationship drama.

Bill Pullman plays Dad, a financially strapped vintner who fears that his long-haired hippie son (Pine) is a loser. "It's 1976," he says. "Woodstock was seven years ago." That's about as insightful as the dialogue ever gets.

The director, Randall Miller (whose 1990s studio movies include "The Sixth Man" and Sinbad's "Houseguest"), has a weakness for sweeping overhead shots that become increasingly distracting. Less fancy camerawork and more vital characters might have helped.

John Hartl: johnhartl@yahoo.com