Bottle Shock (2008) grossed $4,629,770 worldwide on a roughly $5M budget (if you believe IMDb, and why wouldn’t you?)
This movie lost money with the following cast:
Alan Rickman
Bill Pullman
Dennis Farina (yes that Dennis Farina)
Chris Pine
Eliza Dushku
Freddy Rodríguez
Rachael Taylor
It is about the soon-to-explode California wine industry in the 1970s. It is utterly charming. Mostly taking place in the Napa Valley, the film also recreates The Judgment of Paris for those of you unfamiliar with the blind tasting where California was pitted against France. And how can you miss Hans Gruber breaking down in an AMC Gremlin?
It still makes me crazy that it didn’t do better with that cast and that level of storytelling, but who am I? Ebert? Siskel? Pauline Kael?
It’s 109 minutes and you can watch it for free with ads. Do not disappoint me.
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