The Chateau Meroux (2011) Online

Having read very mixed reviews, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. So, in the end, I decided that the only way to find out is to go ahead and watch it. I got the movie and to be honest, was expecting a huge disaster (I guess negative reviews always dominate). I've just finished watching and so glad I did. The acting wasn't bad, yes, not a Hollywood blockbuster, but who always needs those movies. It is a lot, and I really mean a lot, better than many movies out there. I really was impressed. Well done to the actors and director - it could have been a bland, movie with stiff acting and poor dialog, no feeling, but it turned out really well. And I even felt for the characters. So, all-in-all, a cute little movie that I'm really glad I watched and will watch again.

We did like the actors. The music was pretty good. The plot was good. And the cinematography was fabulous.

But the writing was awful. Among the concepts that were hard to believe are that the main character girls are snarky and drunkards and juvenile one minute, then supposedly wise and kind and mature the next, making the personal connections and business decisions they make hard to accept. Also, the estate business takes place in a time frame that isn't believable, so again, hard to accept.

Then there's the vocab. It would be SO great if writers would just stay away from the gungy words and concepts that do nothing but create litter and instead give us high-road words and situations that make sense.

And next to the ignorant vocab, there's our next least favorite thing.. The moment when a character really should say what needs to be said, but instead uses precious moments to either stay silent or do the "You don't understand" or "Just listen to me" or some such. Just spit it out! And on the flip side, the listener doesn't listen. SO many stories include this plot twist and it's always annoying. Especially since up til then that character usually has had no problem spouting whatever comes to mind and the listener has usually been a great listener.

If you're not expecting much, you'll probably enjoy the show. If you're hoping for a smart story, this isn't it. Either way, the actors are fun, especially Christopher Lloyd, and the views are beautiful.

"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.

Wendy (Marla Sokoloff) has had an erratic work history. Flitting from job to job, she has struggled to pay bills by becoming a direct saleslady and more. This upsets her close friend, Amanda. But, out of the blue, Wendy receives word that her long-estranged father has passed away and left her a VINEYARD! Lucky girl, the place has a nice house and grounds in Napa Valley. However, there are complications. First, Wendy knows nothing about making wine. On impulse, this pretty lady decides to learn. Then, her father's wine label has struggled to make a profit, lately, selling bottles that are "high end", without less expensive selections. Finally, unknown to Wendy, a neighboring wine producer (Christopher Lloyd) has plans to sabotage Wendy's wine making at the Château Meroux and snatch up the place when Wendy is forced to sell it. On the up side, Wendy meets a nice gentleman, Chris (Barry Watson) who trades barbs with her, initially, but who ignites a romance between them. However, Chris may have some secrets up his sleeve. Can Wendy become a success at last, when she enters a wine contest to get the CM back in big business? This charming film, set in beautiful wine country, is a new joy for fans of romantic comedy. There are some clever lines and situations sprinkled throughout while Sokoloff and Watson are engaging, very attractive performers. There is also a secondary romance thrown in for good measure, which will please everyone. Viewers will love the costumes and fun direction as well. So, locate this film, open a bottle of wine, and savor the combination.

I was disappointed in the absurdly thin plot divises used to further the action, as for example the total inability of the principals to recognise deliberate sabotage, apparently assuming that stopcock handles can turn themselves and then leap off the valve and throw themselves on the floor, apparent suicides. That said, one isn't entirely disappointed in the actors, who are almost uniformly pleasant and attractive, with the exception of the piece's almost absurdly transparent villain and his doltish assistant, who weren't easily distinguished from those of the commedia dell'arte. All in all, a moderately pleasant diversion, and fairly typical of the genre.

Not only is the story bizarre but the quality of acting is so poor. I was thoroughly disappointed. I was surprised it got a 4.8 rating as it does not even deserve a 1.

There are some movies (including Hallmark) where the story is good but the acting is very poor and trust me when I say this, because I have seen my fair share of good movies.

This is not only terrible but the character of Wendy!!!!!!!!!?????? It could have been a really good movie if it was planned well. As the girls arrive, they are wining and dining with the help and one evens sleeps with the guy within the first or 2nd night of meeting.

I noticed that a lot in movies. Complete strangers meet and within the first night, they are kissing and sleeping with each other. I think the Movie Boyfriend for Christmas had that happen too. Wow....A man walks into through your door and next you are sleeping with him.

Anyway, I went of track there, back to this movie. Ghastly and I would certain not recommend anyone even think of watching it. Waste of time

I hated this film and would have turned it off in the first 5 minutes except for the fact that I wanted to write a detailed review for people like me who may be interested in seeing love movies, I was rather disappointed that there wasn't much information on this title and it seemed like a great movie from the previews but that as soon as I started to watch it it was total garbage, really the most wasted 3 dollars I've spent in a good while.I wouldn't recommend this to any one, I was also disappointed because I really liked the star of the film when she played in Scents and Sensibility but her character in this film was really different, and I mean that in a bad way. so anyways heres here are some of the things I noticed in the movie that were unsettling/ concerning to me. The movie starts with Wendy (the main character) calling her best friend Jen on the telephone, Jen is angry at Wendy for being late for their "girls night out" together and Wendy says shes on her way so Jen suggests "Hey why don't we watch 'Sex in the city' and throw olives at the screen every time some poor girl gets screwed by a douche bag". Later on Wendy's father dies, leaving her the château so Wendy meets the employees that worked for her father, when she meets the first employee her best friend is with her and the guy says "I'm gonna break this white girl" in Spanish Jen does not like the guy so she says "touch me and I'll permanently separate your balls" to which the guy responds "your loss". Yet more sexual references happen when Wendy runs into Chris at the grocery store, Chris had already bought her a tank of gas earlier in the film so Wendy offers to repay him by paying for his "grocerys" but all he has in his basket is one food item and a pack of condoms so he says "you want to buy my um---" and Wendy says "OH condoms! teaching a sex ed class later?" and Chris responds again saying "I'm sorry I don't know you enough to let you buy my prophylactics (protection)" Jen (her best friend) was spying the scene between Wendy and Chris and asked Wendy if she was flirty to which Wendy responds "yes I broke a bottle of wine and offered to buy him condoms". When Wendy and Jen meet Chris's dad for the first time Jen tells Wendy "I've been around enough dicks in my life to know one when I see them". There are a number of mentions of "Six pack abs" by Jen, Ramario at one point makes a joke about getting his "hands wet". When Ramario and Jen get together she tells him she doesn't like men who "wax their chest hair off" then she proceeds to ask Romario "when are you gonna give it up?" to which he responds "when I get what I want, Don't leave until your relaxed" Later on Wendy walks in the living room to find Romario sitting on her sofa with out a shirt on eating snacks and asks "woah whats wrong with this picture?" Romario says that Jen "wore" him out and Wendy responds "So I heard, thin walls you know." Jen proceeds to be more frustrated with Romario when he sends her "love sonnets" she tells Wendy she wants "Dirty texts" and says in frustration at her phone screen "just do me already!" She sees Ramario and he tries to talk to her about their "relationship" and Jen tells him less talking, they start to kiss and then step behind wine silos and the screen returns to Wendy's story. Ramario starts to fall for Jen and tells her she has broken his feelings and Jen's response to the situation was "how many times do I have to explain to him what friends with benefits means?" and by telling Ramario that it was "just supposed to be physical". Back to the story of Wendy and Chris- On their very first date together Wendy asks Chris "are you taking me some place cheap and dirty or expensive and just nasty?" they go to some place where they have a drink and Wendy tells him the alcohol is good and that she may start giving "lap dances" later to which he responds "I should have bought more condoms". In the middle of their date Chris's old girl friend comes in and for what ever reason he hides under the table and tells Wendy why. Wendy reacts to the situation by saying "why not act like a man and pretend you've got a penis?" she also tells him that she may not have expected anything out of their first date but "shaved" her legs and got a "bikini wax" "just in case" Chris asks Wendy out on another date by saying "in the interest of pretending I have a penis will you go out with me again" Wendy agrees and he tells her to be there at 7:30 in a "French maid outfit".