View from the Top

Here's where being a film critic is tricky. This movie isn't really bad, it's actually worth seeing in some senses. It's less than 90 minutes long, which is a safe bet for a comedy. But it fails to deliver any laughs, it stumbles in its course and has some major flaws. As a film critic, my assignment is to tell the readers my humble opinion of whether a film is worth paying to see. In that regard, no, "View from the Top" is not recommended by me. I didn't even really enjoy it that much. It delivers nothing fresh. But I never checked my watch, I never felt like doing something else with my time. It is a harmless film, a good-natured, sappy one-laugh movie that isn't as clever as it thinks it is but still manages to be sublimely interesting in an odd fashion. It kept me interested, although there may be a difference between interested and entertained.

"View from the Top" has been in what filmmakers call "production hell" for quite some time. It finally was released only to bomb at the box office. I don't blame the public for ignoring it. It's sad to think that the funniest thing about "View from the Top" is that Mike Myers' co-star role as a weirdo airline employee is the highlight of the movie. Myers' cameo may be self-indulgent, but not nearly as much so as Adam Sandler's in "The Hot Chick." In fact, without Mike Myers, I would have given this movie an even lesser rating.

The movie is about airline stewardesses and their way to the top. This sounds like a dull subject because it is. This can hardly be stretched out into a long movie without becoming repetitive. But, in a sense, it isn't clichéd - there are no evil characters bent on the heroine's destruction, there aren't any sexually suggestive pilots hitting on the heroine. It's just a story about a woman trying to make it to the top. It will probably inspire and enthrall the younger crowds but leave older audiences unsure.

The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna Jensen, a small-town girl who dreams of leaving her country home and moving out into the real world. After reading an inspirational book about a flight stewardess who made her way to the top, Donna leaves home and joins a low-key airline service. Rob Lowe makes a cameo as the pilot but then disappears for the rest of the film. With the ads for the movie, you'd think he's a main character.

Donna meets up with Shelly (Kelly Preston) and another young stewardess played by Christina Applegate. They decide to join Royalty Airlines, but Donna's test results are switched and she ends up being turned down for a job at the airline by Frank Whitney (Mike Myers), who has a funny eye that turns inwards and in order to read he must go through crazy guestures.

This movie has sweet performances and sweet intentions, and comes off the way it wants to - sweet - but I can't bring myself to fully recommend you pay to see it. "View from the Top" isn't a particularly fine movie. It's watchable fluff, and the techniques the film use are not as clichéd as something like "Legally Blonde." But in the end, I realized I had barely laughed at anything. Perhaps clichés aren't always the things to avoid.

2.5/5 stars

I really cant believe some of the bad reviews of this movie that I have just been reading on here! The movie is EXACTLY what it promises to be; cute, charming, and yes, a little bit fluffy!! However, it does not take itself too seriously and that makes its flaws forgiveable. I thought it was very entertaining and refreshing, come on people, LIGHTEN UP!!

This movie cant decide what it wants to be.It's not a Mike Myers comedy but spends an awful lot of time with Myers.It doesn't bother to develop any decent kind of romance for its main character but then takes too much time worrying about her romantic needs.It spends most of the script have the girls do stupid things and the rest has super glamorous Paltrow run around super glamorous hotels and European locations.I think this was meant to be a chic romantic comedy but the script revolted and tried for three stooges.If one likes Gwyneth its a must,she absolutely looks stunning here.Thats about the only reason to watch this.

On a very slow night, I watched this flick and was generally surprised at the physical comedy Gwen was willing to put herself through. I really enjoyed this film. For it's ridiculous nature. It's fable quality, and real nice (yet mostly overused) concept of home is where love is. And it reminded me that the journey with someone is better than the journey alone. Everyone needs a co-pilot and it's a sweet message (albeit sometimes outdated). I feel. a movie like this is genuine, and returns back to a time where we may not have been so cynical. If that's their angle, I would say...it's not a bad thing to be sweet.

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.