View from the Top: Movie Review, DVD Review (2003)
9/21/2007 Posted by Admin
Of warm nuts and a highball
(Originally published 2003)
Directed by Bruno Barreto, written by Eric Wald, 87 minutes, rated PG-13.
The new Bruno Barreto film, "View from the Top," is a light yet bruising comedy about flight attendants, which should stand as an immediate warning to them and also to anyone planning to fly in the coming weeks
Indeed, just try getting some warm nuts and a highball out of the friendly skies now.
As with any easy target, the film does exactly what you expect it will do--it kneecaps its elevated lot and lampoons them, pulling their hair, smudging their mascara and clipping their wings in an all-out effort to poke a little fun at the folks behind the stereotype.
The film hails from Miramax, which gave us "Chicago," another movie that recently kicked up its heels, only differently. Indeed, in "View from the Top," it's less about the kicking and more about the heels. And the hair. And the makeup. And the men.
And the condescension, which sits atop everything here like one big squawking crow.
The film, which has been parked on Miramax’s shelf for the past two years, stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna Jensen, a small-town girl with big-haired dreams who decides the best way out of her hum-drum life is to shoot for the stars by becoming a flight attendant.
After getting a job with the less than desirable Sierra Airlines, whose motto seems to be "keep it cheap, especially with the hired help," she eventually moves on to bigger and brighter skies at Royalty Airlines.
There, while in training, she befriends Royalty’s impeccable matriarch, Sally Weston (Candice Bergen), impresses Royalty’s lazy-eyed instructor, John Whitney (Mike Myers) and gets screwed over royally by her best friend Christine (Christina Applegate), a conniving troublemaker determined to keep Donna down.
Complicating matters for Donna is Ted (Mark Ruffalo), a Cleveland-based law student whose wanton looks and professions of love are almost as attractive as what Donna really wants--a first-class route between New York and Paris.
As you can imagine, this quandary would be too much for anyone to bear, certainly for anyone raised by a former stripper in Silver Springs, Nev. Still, should Donna be true to her career-girl roots and press on to achieve her dream of serving champagne and tight smiles over international waters? Or should she just say sayonara to the skies in favor of shacking up in Ohio with the man of her dreams?
Even a kitten could figure this one out.
As written by newcomer Eric Wald, this occasionally funny flick is as thin as the air at 30,000 feet. Throughout, it feels weirdly dated, coming off less like a vehicle for Gwyneth Paltrow and more like one for Doris Day. The performances are appealing, but more than once I found myself wishing that the government would intervene, bailing out this otherwise bland airline movie with a better story, smarter jokes and a less predictable ending that veered slightly off course.
Grade: C
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Directed by Bruno Barreto, written by Eric Wald, 87 minutes, rated PG-13.
The new Bruno Barreto film, "View from the Top," is a light yet bruising comedy about flight attendants, which should stand as an immediate warning to them and also to anyone planning to fly in the coming weeks
Indeed, just try getting some warm nuts and a highball out of the friendly skies now.
As with any easy target, the film does exactly what you expect it will do--it kneecaps its elevated lot and lampoons them, pulling their hair, smudging their mascara and clipping their wings in an all-out effort to poke a little fun at the folks behind the stereotype.
The film hails from Miramax, which gave us "Chicago," another movie that recently kicked up its heels, only differently. Indeed, in "View from the Top," it's less about the kicking and more about the heels. And the hair. And the makeup. And the men.
And the condescension, which sits atop everything here like one big squawking crow.
The film, which has been parked on Miramax’s shelf for the past two years, stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna Jensen, a small-town girl with big-haired dreams who decides the best way out of her hum-drum life is to shoot for the stars by becoming a flight attendant.
After getting a job with the less than desirable Sierra Airlines, whose motto seems to be "keep it cheap, especially with the hired help," she eventually moves on to bigger and brighter skies at Royalty Airlines.
There, while in training, she befriends Royalty’s impeccable matriarch, Sally Weston (Candice Bergen), impresses Royalty’s lazy-eyed instructor, John Whitney (Mike Myers) and gets screwed over royally by her best friend Christine (Christina Applegate), a conniving troublemaker determined to keep Donna down.
Complicating matters for Donna is Ted (Mark Ruffalo), a Cleveland-based law student whose wanton looks and professions of love are almost as attractive as what Donna really wants--a first-class route between New York and Paris.
As you can imagine, this quandary would be too much for anyone to bear, certainly for anyone raised by a former stripper in Silver Springs, Nev. Still, should Donna be true to her career-girl roots and press on to achieve her dream of serving champagne and tight smiles over international waters? Or should she just say sayonara to the skies in favor of shacking up in Ohio with the man of her dreams?
Even a kitten could figure this one out.
As written by newcomer Eric Wald, this occasionally funny flick is as thin as the air at 30,000 feet. Throughout, it feels weirdly dated, coming off less like a vehicle for Gwyneth Paltrow and more like one for Doris Day. The performances are appealing, but more than once I found myself wishing that the government would intervene, bailing out this otherwise bland airline movie with a better story, smarter jokes and a less predictable ending that veered slightly off course.
Grade: C
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