Woman on Top (2000)

Brazilian chef Isabella Oliveira moves to San Francisco when her husband, frustrated by her motion sickness, cheats on her.

Director:

Fina Torres

Writer:

Vera Blasi

Stars:

Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penélope Cruz	...	Isabella Oliveira (as Penelope Cruz)
Murilo Benício	...	Toninho Oliveira
Harold Perrineau	...	Monica Jones (as Harold Perrineau Jr.)
Mark Feuerstein	...	Cliff Lloyd
John de Lancie	...	Alex Reeves (as John De Lancie)
Anne Ramsay	...	TV Director
Ana Gasteyer	...	Claudia Hunter
Analu De Castro	...	Little Isabella - Age 2
Thais De Sá Curvelo	...	Little Isabella - Age 5
Eliana Guttman	...	Isabella's Mother
Eduardo Mattedi	...	Isabella's Father
Ana Paula Oliveira	...	Cook
Marilice Santos	...	Sexy Neighbor
Giba Conceição	...	Troubadour #1
Joaquim Pinto	...	Troubadour #2

Storyline

Isabella is a great cook, making her husband's restaurant in Bahia, Brazil, a success. To control her motion sickness, she must do the driving and be on top during sex, which drives her macho husband, Toninho, to infidelities. Heart-broken, she leaves for San Francisco, moving in with her childhood friend, Monica, a cross-dresser. To mend her heart, she makes an offering to Yemanja, the goddess of the sea. The goddess responds: Isabella no longer loves and the fish in Bahia no longer bite. Stricken, Toninho heads north to get her back; he finds her hosting a popular TV show, Passion Food, courted by its producer. Can he learn humility? Can she find happiness without him?

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Plot Keywords:

motion sickness | cross dresser | passion | love | infidelity | 

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Taglines:

It's gonna be one hot summer.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (Greece)

Also Known As:

Las mujeres arriba

Filming Locations:

Bahia, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£63,549 (UK) (26 January 2001)

Gross:

ESP 156,820,319 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All interiors for the San Francisco scenes were shot in soundstages in Brazil.

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Goofs

The left shoulder of Isabella's red dress outside the TV studio.

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Quotes

Tonihno: [explaining to his wife why he's cheating on her] A man must be on top sometimes!

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Acordei"
Written by Moraes Moreira (as Moreas Moreira)
Performed by Moraes Moreira (as Moreas Moreira)
Courtesy of Som Livre

User Reviews

Penélope Cruz is a fish

This, overall, is a cute movie. While Cruz is far and away the star of this movie, the stories strong point is that it is a "chick flick" with an attitude. The best performance comes from actor Harold Perrineau Jr. who plays a gay side kick to Cruz. Much like the movie, Cruz is unique and at many times sexy. Although this is a romantic comedy, there is drama to be found. Cruz is something between a fish and the hot chili like peppers that are used in her character's cooking. She is simple like a fish, yet she is exotic and original like the peppers she uses to make her simple dishes breath taking. This is not a sexually driven movie, although the dishes she makes in the kitchen are nothing but sex, sex, and more sex. Overall, a nice story that puts a smile on your face.