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

3 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

Plagued by chronic motion sickness, Isabella--a sultry Brazilian belle, and a gifted chef--needs to be in control in every aspect of her life: in her car; in the kitchen; on the dance floor, and of course, during sex. Needless to say, this confusing situation drives Isabella's husband, Toninho, crazy--and after one infidelity too many--the feisty young woman decides to do what she knows best: take over the reins of her life, and move to San Francisco. There, a brilliant career as the presenter of her TV cooking show awaits Isabella--and for the first time in a long while--she feels loved. Will guilty Toninho realise what he's lost?

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Plot Keywords:

television show | motion sickness | brazilian | brazil | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

A sexy comedy about making relationships more delicious.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harold Perrineau ("Monica") is actually straight. He and his wife Brittany (a model) have three children, including actress Aurora Perrineau.

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Goofs

Cliff's shirt and tie in Isabella's apartment.

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Quotes

Rafi: Toninho, what on earth possessed you to do what you did? I mean, when a man truly loves his wife, he never lets her catch him.

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Connections

References Brazil (1985)

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Soundtracks

Eu Sabia
Written by Bill Brendle and Katia Moraes (as Kátia Moraes)
Performed by Katia Moraes (as Kátia Moraes) and Sambaguru
Produced by Bill Brendle

User Reviews

Unoriginal, wholly forgettable fairy-tale

This is a modern day romantic fairy-tale, minus the charm. The storyline is silly, the treatment of the subject -- if there is one - is disappointingly silly, even for what's supposed to be a lighthearted romantic comedy.

I don't know who the target audience of this film is; surely today's moviegoing young women know that a woman deserves better than to be stashed away in the kitchen; and surely they know that "educating" a boyfriend or husband is a difficult task (if at all achievable), requiring more than running away to fashionable S.F. and applying some hocus-pocus. Perhaps the film is aimed at men, who get an extended chance to drool at Penelope Cruz, who indeed looks lovely and "fetching". As for myself, I'd rather watch this lovely actress in better films, such as All About My Mother.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woman on Top

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,008,191, 24 September 2000

Gross USA:

$5,020,111

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,194,274

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1