BLOOD AND WINE

"BLOOD AND WINE"
(1997) (Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Mild	Moderate	Minor	Mild

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Minor	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Minor	Moderate	Moderate	Mild	Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A desperate man and his partner search for a necklace they've stolen that's been taken from them.

PLOT:: Alex Gates (JACK NICHOLSON) is a middle-aged, married man who sells wine to the rich and famous. While he and his wife, Suzanne (JUDY DAVIS), are at the end of their marriage, his stepson, Jason (STEPHEN DORFF), helps him with his wine deliveries. One of their stops is at a wealthy estate where a nanny, Gabriella (JENNIFER LOPEZ), works who just so happens to be having an affair with Alex. This allows him and an ex-con acquaintance, Vic (MICHAEL CAINE), to steal a million-dollar necklace from the estate. When Suzanne and Jason leave the Gates homestead in a hurry, they inadvertently take the valuable necklace with them. From that point on, Alex and Vic try to get the necklace back while Jason learns the secrets his stepfather has been keeping.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of the any of the cast involved, they might. Otherwise, there's nothing here to draw kids, especially younger ones.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JACK NICHOLSON plays an adulterous thief who puts the theft and recovery of a valuable necklace before his marriage and his wife's life.
STEPHEN DORFF plays the stepson who learns his stepfather's secrets and sets into motion a plan that will enact revenge upon him.
MICHAEL CAINE plays a safe-cracker who doesn't hesitate to use violence as a means to an end.
JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a nanny who has an affair with a married man and continues to support him after she learns of his thieving ways.; STEPHEN DORFF plays the stepson who learns his stepfather's secrets and sets into motion a plan that will enact revenge upon him.
MICHAEL CAINE plays a safe-cracker who doesn't hesitate to use violence as a means to an end.
JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a nanny who has an affair with a married man and continues to support him after she learns of his thieving ways.; MICHAEL CAINE plays a safe-cracker who doesn't hesitate to use violence as a means to an end.
JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a nanny who has an affair with a married man and continues to support him after she learns of his thieving ways.; JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a nanny who has an affair with a married man and continues to support him after she learns of his thieving ways.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 4 out of 10: In this seventh film with director Bob Rafelson, Jack Nicholson delivers yet another smirking, ready to explode character that we've come to expect from this fine actor. This film, however, while nowhere near as disastrous as their last pairing, "Man Trouble," isn't a great production. But it's easy to sit through and doesn't seem any longer than its one hundred minute run time. Nicholson, though, doesn't deliver anything new and Caine seems miscast and too old to play the heavy in this film. Lopez is essentially used as eye candy, which leaves Dorff to deliver probably the best performance in the movie. The film's biggest problem is that you just never get drawn into it, you always watch from a distance. While that's not always a fatal flaw, the result is that you really don't care what happens to the characters. Perhaps if a bit more humor was thrown in to counter the serious, and at times dark drama, this production might have come off as a more enjoyable flick. Fans of any of the cast members might enjoy watching their favorite stars go through their paces, but this film won't find a commercial audience and will quickly retire to the video stores. It's an okay flick, but nowadays we expect more from a film with Nicholson. We give this one a 4 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: Violence and abuse top the agenda of objectionable material in this film. There are several fights where people are repeatedly beaten with some sort of object, and one man is killed. Women are tossed about by men in anger several times, and Nicholson's character is the main offender. He's also having an affair, though no sexual activity is seen. Profanity is extreme with 14 "f" words being used, and both smoking and drinking receive moderate ratings. Although younger kids will probably pass on this movie, we suggest that you read the category listings in case you or your older kids wish to see this film.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Alex works in a wine shop and delivers wine to his clients.
Jason twice drinks a beer.
Alex says that Suzanne broke her ankle by falling down the stairs drunk. In one scene, an empty wine bottle sits near the sofa she's sleeping on.
Alex tells Jason to tell his mom "to take it easy on the codeine (for her ankle)...it makes her mean."
A rich woman on a boat drinks wine.
Alex and Gabriella drink wine.
Gabriella's relatives drink beer.
Alex and Vic have beer in front of them, but aren't seen drinking it.
People drink in a bar.
Alex drinks wine after smothering Vic.

BLOOD/GORE: Suzanne has a bloody nose and the side of Alex's head is very bloody after they've fought. Later, Alex sews up the wound by himself and "thread" is seen running from the skin above his eye.
Suzanne is a little bloody after she's in a car wreck.
There's some blood in the sink after one of Vic's coughing fits.
Alex's legs are a little bloody after they've been crushed by a boat.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Alex and Vic plan to (and then do) steal a valuable necklace from a client's home.
A rich woman says about Gabriella: "She's smart, but she's got that 'Cubano' temperament."
Alex has an affair with Gabriella.
Vic has no qualms about using violence to get what he wants.
Alex puts the theft, and then recovery of the stolen necklace above his marriage, or for that matter, his wife's life.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: There are two scenes where the theft of the necklace is planned or takes place that some viewers may find as a little tense.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Speargun (with a shotgun shell loaded in it): Used to kill a shark and later used by Jason to threaten Alex.
Handgun: Seen in Vic's drawer.
Pocket Knife: Held by Jason as he pins Gabriella to a bed.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Jerking off," "Shut up," "Idiots," and "Bastard."
Alex and Vic steal an expensive necklace.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There are just a few scenes with a minor amount of suspenseful music.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 14 "f" words (1 with the prefix "mother" and 1 used sexually), 11 "s" words, 1 slang term for male genitals (the "c" word), 3 "ass" words, 3 damns, 1 S.O.B., and 8 uses of "God damn," 4 uses of "Jesus," 3 uses of "Oh God," 2 uses each of "Jesus Christ," "Oh my God," and "Christ," and 1 use each of "God," "Dear God," and "For Christ's sake" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: It's implied that Alex and Gabriella have sex, but nothing's seen. She is seen, though, in a negligee as she and Alex dance.
Alex accuses Gabriella of having sex with Jason and asks where they did it, "On the bed...or up against the wall?"

SMOKING: Vic smokes throughout the movie despite having to use an inhaler to combat some sort of lung disease.
A friend of Jason's smokes.
A man at a fish market has an unlit cigar in his mouth.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Alex and Suzanne have marital problems and she seems to know about his infidelity. It all comes to a boil as they get into a physical fight where she ends up knocking him unconscious and the moves out.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Abuse of women: Women are occasionally pushed around by men and in one scene Alex tries to hurt Suzanne.

VIOLENCE: Alex and Suzanne fight over a pair of car keys. Alex pins her face down on a sofa where she then elbows him in the face. He in turn punches her, but she retaliates by hitting him several times with a fireplace poker, finally knocking him out.
After Alex realizes that Suzanne has unknowingly taken the necklace, he smashes things in the house.
Vic grabs Jason's friend and repeatedly smashes the back of his head into a tree. Alex stops this by punching Vic in the lower back.
Jason attacks Vic in a bar (after learning of the above), and punches him many times before they're separated.
Suzanne and Jason's car flips over (while being chased by Vic and Alex) and slides down an embankment. It's later reported that Suzanne dies from this.
Jason throws Gabriella to a bed while holding a pocket knife that he eventually drops.
Jason and Alex get into a shoving match that quickly ends.
Alex throws Gabriella to the floor after he thinks she's slept with Jason.
Vic repeatedly hits Alex with a golf club. Moments later, Alex smothers Vic with a pillow.
Alex and Jason get into a fight on a boat. There's punching and kicking and Jason's shotgun shell loaded spear gun discharges, but no one's hit. Jason takes quite a beating, but after Alex falls into the water and tries to climb up a ladder, Jason backs the boat into Alex, crushing his legs.

Reviewed February 18, 1997

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