Uncorked (1998)

John Huddles tries hard to charm audiences with his modest little American indie comedy about a kooky British clan on a sprawling northern California estate. Rufus Sewell is the would-be family entrepreneur on a financial losing streak ready to sink the last of his fortune on a failed manganese mine. His girlfriend (Minnie Driver) can't talk him out of the doomed venture and his brother is busy getting back to nature, so eccentric uncle Nigel Hawthorne climbs down from his spiritual cloud to knock some sense into his nephew: "His karma was constipated. I gave him an enema." Executive producers Driver and Hawthorne were surely drawn to the sweetly offbeat characters and hopeful message of healing in the script, but Huddles's stylistic gymnastics distract from the comedy's gentle pace and simple tone, and even these engaging performers can't buoy the film through the phony contrivances of the feel-good finale. The film has previously been released under the names At Sachem Farm and Higher Love. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Off-beat, but poorly done

This movie does have a refreshing philosophical perspective, but it's not executed well. A lot of the dialogue is plodding or obvious. The characters have no chemistry, relationship twists seem surreal, and the waste and extravagance is enormous for so called "enlightened" souls.
The movie is too long and repetitive and ultimately predictable. January 25, 2008

I'm only in it for Mr. Tang......

I liked this movie, because it seemed like there was subtle and wistful moral to the story. A lesson in how to get over yourself, how to face fear of failure, and if those fears come true, how to pick yourself up and move forward.

Ross, the lead in the movie, is extroverted, always talking, always busy, and he's taken the fate of his family and the world on his shoulders, whether they want him to, or like or not. However his family doesn't need saving, and they continue onward in their lives, as he rants and raves in frustration around them, his intentions are good, his grasp of the big picture - not so much.

The first time you watch the movie, his family does seem as frustrating, and nonsensical. Frustrating events occur, the situation seems bleak. And then the movie begans to explain.

It's nice to Rufus Sewell in a role where he isn't playing the bad guy (Knights Tale, The Illusionist, The Holiday, for instance)he's an interesting actor to watch, partially because his head seems so much proportionally larger then everyone elses, and partially because it's easy to imagine that role strikes close to his real life personality.

My favorite part of this movie, alluded to in the title of this review, is the musical stylings of the Keone Young, the actor playing "Mr. Tang".

To sum up, I found this to be a sweet, introspective movie, that made me look into my own life a little deeper. And for that, I recommend it. January 1, 2008

Perfect!

DVD was in perfect condition! Came quickly and in time for Christmas. Thanks so much, David! December 24, 2007

Released!

Sewell is just splendid in this film. I doubt many people have seen it, but it's well worth the watch. Rufus's character is obsessed with finding where he fits in today's world, yet his uncle knows. It may seem a bit much at first with the uncle pouring out all of his only known inheritance(the wine), but there is a point to it all. Take my word on this; it teaches a person not to judge and to utilize his/her talents instead of "sqirming" away the hours of one's life. December 4, 2007

Uncorked

Despite the fact that I am a HUGE Rufus Sewell fan - this film was atrocious. The plot revolves around an oddball family of slackers who never held "real jobs". Nephew Ross constantly complians that his old uncle Cullen was a spoiled trust fund kid who lived off family money. But Nephew Ross also never was able to hold a "real job" and repeatedly loss huge sums of money in hare-brained investments. So what is the point?

The film is racist against Asians. There are approximately 15 Asian actors in this film and none of them ever speak - just state mutely into space without any dialogue. The only Asian actor that speaks, Mr. Tang does a cornball, hoky song on the guitar and behaves like a buffoon.

Inane, slowly paced plot with stilted dialogue. The most annoying thing about this film is 30% of it is shots of the actors without any dialogue just staring into space, or gazing at other actors without any dialogue, far too many very long shots of scenery, buildings and landscapes....none of those VERY LONG shots do absolutely nothing to advance the plot or build character development.

Rufus Sewell, Minnie Driver and Nigel Davenport are all highly respected actors - but the script is boring, direction is weak and the film just plods along. The entire supporting cast are untalented unknowns who were probably cast in their roles because they would work for union scale.

The only reason to purchase this film is if you are a big Rufus Sewell fan and just enjoy watching him in a bad film for his gorgeous, hunky "eye-candy" appeal. Sewell does an admirable job trying to elevate this insipid film, but even his world class acting skills cannot do much for "Uncorked". In order to make this film bearable, I simply fast-forwarded skipping all the scenes that did not have Rufus Sewell. The sound track is lovely - Rufus Sewell and the sound track are the only thing that makes it bearable to watch.


This is a "straight to video" type film that gets pulled from first run theaters after the first weekend and goes straight to cable. September 13, 2004

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