Butler's Cinema Scene

Courtney B. Vance, Mamoudou Athie

“UNCORKED” My rating: B

104 minutes | No MPAA rating

In “Uncorked” a young man must choose between fulfilling family expectations or following his own drummer.

It’s a universal story that in the hands of writer/director Prentice Penny takes on a very specific cultural sensibility while remaining a gently satisfying experience.

Elijah (Mamoudou Athie) has pretty much had his future planned for him since childhood.

His parents, Louis and Sylvia (Courtney B. Vance, Niece Nash), have for years operated a Bar-B-Que joint in Memphis.  Dad has pretty much assumed — without asking — that Elijah will take over the biz…or at least step up to run a second eatery being readied.

But the young man has other ideas.  Currently he works in a liquor store whose owner (Matthew Glave) is a certified sommelier, and Elijah has over the months developed a tremendous interest in fine wines.  So much so that he risks disappointing his judgmental Papa to enroll in a sommelier class that will drain his savings and even send him off to France for several months.

“Uncorked” is at heart a family drama; it also is a sort of rough introduction to the world of wine afficianados who can with a sniff and sip tell you the grape variety, the country of origin, the specific vineyard and even the year of the vintage.

Niece Nash

Along the way our man finds a good woman (Sasha Compere), bonds with his fellow sommelier wannabes (Matt McGorry, Gil Ozeri, Meera Rohit Kumbhani), endures a family tragedy and must cope with his own fear of failure.

None of this is overwhelmingly dramatic, but that’s not what writer/director Penny is going for. “Uncorked” has a comfortably lived-in feel; just about every viewer will be able to identify with some character or situation presented here.

The acting is unforced and the performers appealing.  Vance is terrific as the father who loves his son but can’t help letting snarky criticisms creep into the conversation.  Nash is absolutely huggable as Elijah’s more open-minded Mama.

And as Elijah,  Athie (in his first feature lead after several years in episodic television) oozes unforced charisma and innate decency.

| Robert W. Butler