View from the Top (2003)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Eric Wald
Directed by Bruno Baretto
Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Mark Ruffalo, Candice Bergen, Kelly Preston, Rob Lowe, and Mike Myers

Features:

• History of the Flight Attendant
  
• Making-of and music featurettes
  

Released by: Miramax
Rating: PG-13
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent it

Donna Jensen (Paltrow) has dreams of getting out of the rut that everyone else at her high school falls into. You know the one: get married and pop out a few kids without ever seeing the world. After reading a book by Sally Weston (Bergen), she decides that becoming a flight attendant is the way to get what she wants. She starts out with a small airline that pretty much sticks to short hops within California but she and her friends, Christine (Applegate) and Sherry (Preston), apply for jobs with a large airline that boasts excellent service to its high profile clientele. Even though she aces the training, she does not pass the test and therefore is stuck flying domestic flights. However, she believes that there is something wrong with her test scores. After all, how could she have possibly failed that test? But the larger question, once she finds her dream, will it give her the satisfaction that she's looking for?

This is a very "cute" movie. That's about all there is to say about it. If you are looking for a piece of cinema that will change the world, you need to put this one down and move on to something else. To enjoy this movie, my recommendation is that you leave your cynicism behind, pop some popcorn, pour a large glass of your favorite beverage and just let go and enjoy it. Paltrow is very funny, and she keeps up with the comic chops of Applegate very well. If there is anyone who seems just a bit out of her depth, it would be Preston. Granted, she's definitely got the body to play the type of role that she had, but often she just seemed lost in the mix between the other two ladies. I can't tell if it was because of her performance or because most of her scenes wound up on the cutting room floor--which, I guess could be an indication of her performance, too, right? Myers is hilarious as always, and he seems to be fully aware that he could play this role in his sleep. Everyone else in the movie seems to understand that they are there to make Paltrow look good, so they do.

The DVD is quaint, and it could have been better. There are three items listed on the bonus features menu, but only one of them is worth watching. Now, granted, I'm the type of guy who watches PBS and The Discovery Channel, but I really enjoyed the featurette on the History of the Flight Attendant. It just skims the surface, but it at least gives you an idea of how this whole idea got started in the first place...and it's probably not for the reasons that you are thinking. After watching this, you really can just take the DVD out of the player and take it back to the rental store because the other two features are not worth wasting your time on.

These featurettes are the type that really get on my nerves. There are interviews with the cast and crew and all they do is talk about how amazing it was to work with the other people on the movie and how immensely talented everybody is. Yawn. There is also a segment on the music of the movie with interviews about how the songs were chosen, but these are very superficial as well. My only comment to you about this movie is that you should make sure to watch all of the credits. It's the closest thing that I could find to a gag reel.

And so, that's about it. If you are looking for a movie to watch over a weekend, you could do a lot worse than this one, but you could also do much better. This is the movie that you should get if your first two choices of movie have all been rented when you go in.