View from the Top (2003)

Director:

Bruno Barreto

Writer (WGA):

Eric Wald (written by)

Release Date:

21 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Don't stop till you reach the top.

Plot:

A small-town woman tries to achieve her goal of becoming a flight attendant.

Plot Keywords:

Flight | Flight Attendant | Airline | First Class | Class

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Christina Applegate	...	Christine Montgomery
Candice Bergen	...	Sally Weston
Marc Blucas	...	Tommy Boulay
Frederick Coffin	...	Mr. Stewart
Chelsey Cole	...	Donna - 6 Yrs. Old
Nadia Dajani	...	Paige
John Francis Daley	...	Rodney
Stacey Dash	...	Angela Samona
Troy Evans	...	Customer
David Hayward	...	Pete
Jorge R. Hernandez	...	Spanish Man
Duane King	...	Royalty Operations Clerk
Rob Lowe	...	Co-Pilot Steve Bench
Joshua Malina	...	Randy Jones (as Josh Malina)
Christina Malpero	...	Rita Sanchez

Also Known As:

A View from the Top (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language/sexual references.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Denmark:A | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bullhead City, Arizona, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The segment where the trainee flight attendants at Royalty Airways are undergoing training by Mike Myers's character included a lesson on how to deal with terrorists. The scene was cut from the film, and was not included on the DVD release as a deleted scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christine is changing the ID numbers on the tests, the formation of the numbers - particularly the numeral 4 - on Donna's test changes between shots.

Quotes:

John Whitney: You put the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble.

Movie Connections:

References Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Soundtrack:

Was That My Life

No frills flying experience

Middle of the road comedy about the dreams and experiences of a small-town girl (Gwyneth Paltrow) who longs to be an international flight attendant.

Another forgettable comedy with (supposedly) high-powered talent that seems to be unused. Gwyneth does have a good comedic presence, and she looks good in the skimpy outfits, what with her lean, leggy body and all.

But it's all just light fluffy trek. The movie struggles to even fill its 87 minutes with substance. Basically just girl from small town, longing for high life and glamour, trials and tribulations achieving her goals, and final realization that love and home are really what cranks. My, my, original indeed.

Yes, Gwyneth is OK, not totally sleepwalking through this role. She obviously needs to be stretched artistically, though. The supporting cast don't provide much. Mike Myers' cross eyed instructor provides a few laughs, but seems mostly like an overplayed Saturday Night Live character.

Candice Bergen seems settled into these time-killer comedies, and that is her prerogative. As the grand damme of flight attendants, she does get a couple of humorous lines, and her lispy, stilted, staccato, deliberate vocal delivery is always funny to me.

5/10 because I did laugh a few times. When it's not funny though, it's not much.