View from the Top (2003)

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

Director:

Bruno Barreto

Writer:

Eric Wald

Stars:

Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Kelly Preston

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Donna Jensen
Christina Applegate	...	Christine Montgomery
Mark Ruffalo	...	Ted Stewart
Candice Bergen	...	Sally Weston
Joshua Malina	...	Randy Jones (as Josh Malina)
Kelly Preston	...	Sherry
Rob Lowe	...	Co-Pilot Steve Bench
Mike Myers	...	John Witney
Marc Blucas	...	Tommy Boulay
Stacey Dash	...	Angela Samona
Jon Polito	...	Roy Roby
Concetta Tomei	...	Mrs. Stewart
Robyn Peterson	...	Donna's Mom
Nadia Dajani	...	Paige
John Francis Daley	...	Rodney

Storyline

Donna Jensen was raised literally and figuratively on the wrong side of the trailer park in Silver Springs, Nevada. She always believed it was her destiny to get out of Silver Springs. After reading Sally Weston's book, Sally who is arguably the most famous now ex-flight attendant in the world, Donna believes the path to leaving Silver Springs is to become a flight attendant despite never having been on an airplane. After an initial bumpy start to this career, Donna shows a natural flair for the job, so much so that she applies to work for world class Royal Airlines, where Sally Weston mentors. After meeting Donna, Sally believes Donna is destined for flight attendant greatness, namely working first class in the New York-Paris flights. Donna believes in herself as a flight attendant, but has to overcome some obstacles, including flight attendant trainer John Witney, who has some hidden anger issues, and her friend Christine Montgomery who also wants to be a great flight attendant ...

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Plot Keywords:

popping a cork | taxicab | b word | deception | looking at oneself in a mirror | 

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Taglines:

Prepare for her arrival.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language/sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

A View from the Top

Filming Locations:

Bullhead City, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,009,513, 23 March 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,589,458, 27 April 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,Brad Grey Pictures,Cohen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The segment where the trainee flight attendants at Royalty Airways are undergoing training by John Witney (Mike Myers), 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.

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Goofs

Donna is walking through an airport terminal and sees two other flight attendants from her airline. They both salute her using their right hands, but she returns their salute using her left hand. Of course this could be because Donna is pulling her suit case with her right hand leaving her left hand free to salute.

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Quotes

[Donna and Christine are filling out job application forms]
Donna Jensen: Oh, my God. Do you dot your "i"'s with little hearts? That's so cute.
Christine: Yeah, well, it's my trademark. That and my hickeys.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, there are outakes and deleted scenes.

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Alternate Versions

15 seconds were cut prior to release from a flight attendant training scene in which Mike Myers made a joke about what to do during a terrorist situation.

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

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Soundtracks

ABC
Performed by Tabitha Fair
Written by Fonce Mizell (as Alphonso Mizell), Freddie Perren, Deke Richards and Berry Gordy

User Reviews

uneven though occasionally fun

Bruno Barreto's `View From the Top' boasts a cute premise that doesn't quite live up to its potential. The film starts out in a satirical vein, promising to deliver a nifty spoof of life in the friendly skies. Instead, it settles into a typical romantic comedy formula, not bad as these things go, but nothing to write home about either. So while `View from the Top' never soars very high, neither does it end up crashing and burning. In this day and age, one must be grateful for a safe landing, even if the ride is a bumpy one.

Gwyneth Paltrow delivers a winning performance as Donna, a small town girl who becomes a stewardess as a way of escaping her dysfunctional family and white trash upbringing. The first part of the film is fun, as Donna earns her wings flying for a cut-rate airline whose attendants dress and act more like prostitutes than stewardesses. With their form-fitting, cleavage-exposing blouses, purple hot pants and big hair, these pleasantly perky hostesses look like they're ready to serve their passengers more than just the customary coffee, tea or milk. So far, so good - but once the girls move onto a more `legitimate' airline, much of the satiric bite drains out of the film and we move onto the more familiar terrain of catty rivalries, long distance romance, and unrequited love.

In addition to Paltrow, the movie features Christina Applegate, Rob Lowe, Candice Bergen and Mark Ruffalo in various roles. Mike Myers is surprisingly annoying in the part of a cross-eyed stewardess trainer. The screenplay by Eric Wald has a maddening tendency to drop characters along the way, giving the film a slapdash, unformed and oddly amateurish quality. As partial compensation, the film boasts superb production and costume design and a generally ebullient spirit.

`View From the Top' doesn't end up flying us anywhere special and it's definitely coach all the way, but it does serve up a few laughs in mid flight.