Sipping and Studying, When the Subject Is Bottled "Somm," Jason Wise's documentary about preparing for the master sommelier exam, is less about wine fetishism than about the fetishism of mastery. The film follows four young men - Ian, Dustin, Brian and DLynn - who have put aside their lives to study for the test. They memorize arcane facts about wine regions and winemaking, jot notes on index cards and quiz one another, rarely seeing their wives or girlfriends. Mr. Wise does show a couple of female master sommeliers, but mainly the vibe is men working and obsessing, while women wait and worry. About the only thing that separates these guys from, say, medical or law students cramming for exams is wine. They drink a lot of it and practice describing it: oaky, grapefruit notes, hints of freshly cut garden hose. This gets titters. And, of course, they spit a lot more out. Yes, it's gross, confirms a wife who has to clean the "spit buckets." The test, the test, the test: The four talk constantly and reverently about it. Mr. Wise seems romanced by their dedication and tries to match their bravado with his stylistic flourishes. These are often silly or corny: glasses of wine shattering in slow motion, as if they had been shot; a bad jazzy song or two; sped-up footage of clouds over vineyards. Brian notes that he and the others are like athletes, competitive and eager to train hard. We see glimpses that suggest that this is only part of the story, but Mr. Wise mostly paints them as one-dimensional jocks. "Somm," though an entree into a little-known world, rarely finds a second dimension.