A so-called documentary about four guys who are preparing for the "Master Sommelier" exam. Never mind that we are never told who the organization behind this contest is, or who bestowed upon them the honor of conferring such a dubious distinction. But we are told that you are supposed to completely dominate not only wine tasting, but also five different languages, spirits, cigars, geography, history, climatology, geology and whatnot to pass this exam. Unfortunately all the main characters seem to miss the mark completely, none of them have the demeanor of someone who has been born and raised in a very cultured environment, speaking multiple languages. In fact, they look that they only learned what the capital of Slovenia is just to impress and top their peers. Honestly, it's just a bunch of bros dating bimbos (inexplicably they interview their wives too) whose only goal in life is to be the best at something. Wine is completely irrelevant, they could be talking about sports or any other topic, the only real driver behind it all is competition. Imagine a Master Bach Listener title and a test where you have to identify the piece, the ensemble playing it and provide details about the harmony, composition and sonority. All in 10 seconds. That is how stupid this whole endeavor is. At the end of the day I'm not sure the filmmakers are taking this seriously or it is all just to mock this contest and the participants. Not A SINGLE person appearing in this movie (except for Bo Barrett) is likable, appealing or really impresses us with their understanding of wine. They are a bunch of soulless, superficial, pathologically competitive a*holes fighting about a title no one in the world really cares about nor takes seriously. If you have a minimal appreciation for wine, this movie is downright offensive, so please avoid like the plague.

Somm mainly focuses on 4 people who are preparing to take the certification test as a Master Sommelier, the highest level of achievement for a wine professional.

For a person like me who can barely tell the difference between any two wines (whether red or white and even then I rely on eyesight rather than smell or taste),watching Somm seemed like it could be a waste of time. I get that some people take their wine very seriously, but watching the movie trailer I knew that these test candidates took themselves too seriously as well. For example, one candidate states that he has cried 3 times in his life: when his parents died, when his children were born, and when he passed this exam. Another candidate says, "Nothing else in my life has ever been this difficult." Well, I suspect that people sitting for the bar exam, the medical boards, and a few other objectively difficult tests would laugh with me at the tension expressed by the subjects here prior to this test. Not to say the test is easy (I would fail miserably),but it clearly is not nearly the life-or-death situation as the test-takers convey.

That being said, this documentary is well shot and edited; the leads are likable and engaging; the accompanying music is wonderful; the attempts to convey the tension felt studying for and taking this exam are effective even if a little exaggerated; and the narration educates non-connoisseurs (like me) just enough without condescension. So if you like documentaries that meet these criteria, you will like this one.

This documentary film is about several guys who are pursuing their certification as Master Sommoliers. While this sounds terrifically boring, it really isn't for many reasons. First, it's an incredibly difficult thing to actually achieve and very few folks on this planet are this knowledgeable, tenacious and talented to earn this. Second, the film makers manage to spin this all in an interesting way that makes you actually care about these oenophiles and their seemingly insane quest to be the best of the best. By the end of the film, my daughter and I actually found ourselves pulling for some of the participants and rooting for them...and in one case, rooting against them. All in all, an exciting film about what might sound like a very dull topic.