View from the Top Movie Review

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rating: PG-13 (for language/sexual references)

Release Date: March 21, 2003

Actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Marc Blucas, Mark Ruffalo, Kelly Preston, Mike Myers, Rob Lowe, Candice Bergen

Director: Bruno Barreto

Special Notes: Look for George Kennedy ("Airport" and three "Airport "sequels) and Chad Everett ("Medical Center") in cameos. An inside joke is a scene that involves Kennedy -- critics laughed because he starred in all those "Airport" disaster movies.

Plot: When Donna's (Paltrow) teen sweetheart breaks up with her, she turns her sites towards a career in the airline business to escape her small town and the small-minded people in it. Donna wants nothing more than to be an international flight attendant and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that her dreams come true. Along the way she makes friends (Applegate, Preston) and meets a boyfriend (Ruffalo), learning that the road to success is rarely a smooth flight and sometimes the journey is filled with turbulence. Will Donna give up her dream job for love? Or will she choose an exciting career that will take her dreams to a new destination?

Good: This is a romantic comedy that relies heavily on whimsy, goofy situations and simple characters to create the imaginary world of Royalty Airlines. The hairstyles, clothes, makeup and ridiculous accents fill each scene and invite the audience to laugh along with them. Paltrow's seasoned acting ability pays off because in the end, her character goes through a metamorphosis and actually learns a lesson or two about life and love! Myers and Bergen end up stealing the show and get the most laughs, but there are still some priceless moments from Paltrow. I enjoyed the airline training school (because I went through some of that myself when I flew for an airline) and Myers' over-the-top trainee character. This is an entertaining movie but don't go expecting it to be SNL funny. Simply go expecting it to be an entertaining romp.

Bad: I have to admit that I made the mistake of thinking this movie was going to be hilarious, so I was a bit disappointed when I hardly laughed at all. It just wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, the movie has its moments when it makes fun of big hair and self-absorbed women, but overall, the goofy situations and slapstick comedy isn't as funny or zany as the trailer makes it out to be. In fact, it's sort of silly. There's some profanity, adult situations and one scene that shows Donna in bed with her boyfriend (no nudity is shown).

Bottom Line: This is a great date movie that women will probably relate to the most but men won't mind watching because it's centered on beautiful women who overcome obstacles on their climb to the top. In the end, the guy gets the girl, the girl gets her dream and the really bad flight attendants get grounded.