‘Uncorked’ pours an interesting story which is then spilled by the ending

Posted on April 3, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

An overbearing parent who wants their child to take over the family business. A son or daughter who wants to strike out on their own to follow a different dream. The two clash, neither able to understand the other.

If that sounds like a movie or a book or a television series you’ve seen before, I’m not surprised. This basic plot has been used hundreds of times over the years. And, like most basic plots, some of the works are great, and some are decidedly not.

The latest version of this story is “Uncorked,” written and directed by Prentice Penny (“Insecure,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), who is making his feature film debut after a career in television. The film was released on Netflix last weekend.

The particular spin Penny puts on the basic story has us following Elijah (Mamoudou Athie, “The Circle”), who is working for his father, Louis (Courtney B. Vance, “American Crime Story”), at his BBQ restaurant, one that he inherited from his own father. Louis expects Elijah to take over the family business, but his son’s heart lies, not in BBQ, but in wine.

“Uncorked” has an interesting premise, especially if you like wine, although that is by no means a requirement. I’ve never been a fan of wine myself, but I learned quite a bit by watching the movie.

Unfortunately, “Uncorked” suffers from a terribly lackluster ending that takes nearly all of the wind from the story’s sails. It’s almost a non-ending, because of all the moments you could have ended the movie at, the one Penny chooses really doesn’t make much sense to me at all.

And, that is a shame, because I was actually enjoying the movie up to that point. The lead performances, especially those from Athie and Vance, had me caring about the characters and their plights.

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