“View From the Top” (Miramax)
Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow goes for the trite and tacky in a so-so romantic comedy entitled “View From the Top.” The movie is funny in a superficial sense but never capitalizes on the heart and humor that lie beneath the surface of the characters. In too many instances a one joke moment is hammered to death in a futile effort to mine a few laughs.
Paltrow plays Donna Jensen a young woman growing up in the West in a small town on the edge of the desert. Wanting to escape from her trailer park life, Donna signs on as a stewardess with a small commuter airline. While working there she makes friends with her co-workers Christine (Christina Applegate) and Sherry (Kelly Preston).
Donna has her eyes set on the next step which is a larger airline. But somehow her friend Christine gets that chance instead of her. Still Donna does get sent to Cleveland where she meets law student Ted (Mark Ruffalo) and he becomes her true love. This causes complications when Donna gets another chance for advancement to a new airline.
The story is sweet and simple and so is the heroine. Paltrow plays her as smart but dumb, a fatal combination in a movie such as this one. Still you can’t help but like Donna, but you wish she didn’t totally dominate the film. Better if they had given more screen time to Applegate who steals every scene she is in.
Mike Myers is also in the movie but only in a supporting role. He plays the cross-eyed man who trains Donna in her stewardess duties. The joke about his eyes goes on for far too long.
Candice Bergen has some good scenes as Sally Weston, a legendary stewardess. Bergen can make any role a winner and she gives a boost to the enjoyment level of this film, but again it is too little too late. Now if this had been the Sally Weston story, well maybe that would have been a better movie.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity.
Gwyneth Paltrow is a talented actress but sometimes she makes bad mistakes in picking her roles. This film is not as bad as “Duets” but at least in that one she got to sing, In this one she just gets to wear tight outfits and smile a lot.
I scored “View From the Top” a towering 4 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
