’Tis the season for holiday rom-coms. It’s not my favorite genre, but I do have a wife and three daughters after all. And truth be told, I do like some romantic comedies. 50 First Dates still gets me. Adam Sandler brings enough slapstick and juvenile humor that it doesn’t feel like a chore.
For some reason, though, I always struggle with rom-coms set in the United Kingdom. There’s just something about that put-on accent that makes my eyes glaze over. Call it a personal flaw. Now France on the other hand…
Champagne Problems is a holiday-season romance about an American woman heading to France for a big business deal, only to stumble into connection, charm, and a few well-timed complications in champagne country. I’m not a Francophile (says the guy wearing an Avignon France hoodie) but I’ve had several great trips to France and I’ll admit that makes me a little biased toward anything set in the country of love.
Where I usually tap out is when movies put wineries front and center. Sideways depicted tasting rooms as drunk fests and single-handedly turned Merlot into public enemy number one. A Walk in the Clouds has Keanu Reeves flapping wings over vineyard rows to stop frost (WHAT?). And Bottle Shock was fine, but if you’ve read the book, the movie left out half the history and buildup to the Judgment of Paris. So maybe I have some champagne problems of my own, though admittedly petty ones.
This movie isn’t for everyone. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 71 percent with critics and 59 percent with audiences. That’s backwards from how I usually read ratings. I tend to trust a higher audience score over what the critics say.
And then there’s Sierra Wine Guy, who didn’t hold back for his 28k Instagram followers. He called the movie “a glitter-coated war crime committed against the human eyeball” and added that “the whole film glows like it was shot through a stick of deodorant.” He’s harsh. Does it give off Hallmark vibes? Absolutely. But the acting is better, the scenery is prettier and you get France instead of Vermont by way of Vancouver. And for what it’s worth, it’s still more of a Christmas movie than Die Hard. Wait, I love Die Hard. Although, according to Otto from Champagne Problems, Die Hard is a tragedy, not an epic action thriller. I guess this movie has some absurd humor that I get a kick out of.
If you want an easygoing holiday rom-com with a little sparkle, a little Paris and a little bit of predictability, give Champagne Problems a shot on Netflix. It’s no Dom Pérignon or Piper-Heidsieck. Maybe a solid Prosecco. Oh, and no wings flapping in the vineyard!
Josh Bendick
Co-winemaker
4 Responses
Thank, Josh. With your recommendation , I will watch this movie. I usually steer away from Rom-Coms also. But, it’s France.
C’est vrai, Vive la France!
Merlot is a fantastic grape. Drink more of that variety if you can. Although arguably it is Bordeaux not Rhone so should we really love it all that much. 🙂
We’ll give it a pass this time : )