The Chateau Meroux (2011)

Director:

Bob Fugger

Writers:

Tim Carter, Adam Morrison

Stars:

Daniel Bastreghi, Christopher Lloyd, Taylor Negron

Cast

Credited cast:
Daniel Bastreghi	...	Romario
Christopher Lloyd	...	Nathan
Taylor Negron	...	Francois
Stephen Pawley	...	Judge
Amanda Righetti	...	Jennifer
Nathaniel "Nate" Scott	...	Wine taster #2
Marla Sokoloff	...	Wendy
Barry Watson	...	Chris
Jeffrey Weissman	...	Roy

Storyline

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Genres:

Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content including references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chateau Meroux - Il vino della vita

Filming Locations:

Oakdale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Contradiction Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"THE DREAM"
Written by Emily Jaye and ERIC BERDON
Performed by Emily Jaye

User Reviews

How Merlot can you go?

"The Château Meroux" is a lightweight chick-flick notable only for staring an ageing Christopher Lloyd. He plays the slimy owner of a vineyard who will stop at nothing to acquire The Château Meroux, a rival Northern Californian plantation. Much of the film consists of light female banter between Wendy (Marla Sokoloff) and Jennifer (Amanda Righetti), who play a couple of big city gals forced to take over a struggling, rural winery. When they're not acting oh so girly, Wendy and Jen are flirting with sexy hunks, romancing strangers and getting their hearts broken.

Aesthetically, the film's going for a kind of hyper romanticism, fawning over pretty summer dresses, youthful beauty, romantic locales, sun-kissed bodies, lips, eyes, hair, sexy foliage and lots and lots of alcohol. It's cute or cheap, depending on your tolerance levels. For a film shot on a micro budget, "Meroux" is cut, shot, acted and flows well.

Mostly, the film's interesting for corporate reasons. It's one of several products being pushed by Starz Media (its produced by Contradiction Films, an independent company), which is slowly moving into feature films and is slowly trying to find and corner its own little niche markets. They mostly make and/or distribute cheap, formulaic, romantic or Christmas movies; TV grade stuff, but more hyper wholesome and hyper polished than is typical of the genre. The Weinsteins recently acquired the company, so Starz seem to have hit upon a untapped market: pg, conservative, family oriented, cutesy dramas. Two decades ago similar off-shoot companies were tapping into soft-core porn. Now, with the proliferation of pornography, you get the reverse.

7/10 - Worth one viewing.