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 Gwyneth
Paltrow's View from the Top has been grounded from the
release schedule for the past year-and-a-half, and for good reason.
In the months that followed the horrific events of 9/11, the last
thing that jittery, shell-shocked moviegoers wanted to see was
a film that made fun of air travel. Even though airline schedules
have pretty much gotten back to normal (or at least, as normal
as can be expected under today's brink-of-war circumstances),
it's still hard to say whether or not seeing a comedy about air
travel is such a hot idea.
Then again, View from the Top is more about following
your dreams than it is about air travel, and despite the film's
misleading trailer, it's actually pretty harmless. Sure, the prospect
of seeing a pilot snoozing away in the cockpit of a rickety old
commercial airplane isn't as funny as it might have been 3 years
ago, but otherwise, the film is a somewhat inspiring, but ultimately
lightweight and forgettable late winter diversion that never reaches
its intended destination.
Even though she grew up in the trailer-park community of Silver
Springs, NV, beautiful blonde Donna Jensen (Gwyneth Paltrow) always
knew that she was destined for bigger and better hairstyles...and
other things. She finally realizes what those things are after
seeing world famous flight attendant Sally Weston (Candice Bergen)
pushing her book My Life in the Sky on a talk show. Donna immediately
sets out to see the world as a first class flight attendant, but
soon after paying her dues, she realizes that living the good
life can be lonely if she doesn't have somebody special to share
it with.
View from the Top is certainly good-natured with plenty
of charm to spare, but otherwise, there really isn't much at stake
here. Whatever insecurities Donna may have had in the beginning
are left by the wayside once she leaves Nevada, and her journey
to the big time is relatively painless. As for the comedy, the
laugh-out-loud moments are few and far between, and the funniest
moments seem to have been left on the cutting room floor (perhaps
in an effort to make the film more politically correct). This
is clearly evident during the outtakes that run over the closing
credits, which include scenes that never even made it into the
final cut.
Though Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow is no stranger to comedy,
her underrated, sensitive performance in 2001's Shallow Hal
was effective because she played it straight. She gets more of
a chance to display her comic timing in View from the Top,
but unfortunately, the material she has to work with never lives
up to its potential. Having said that, Paltrow takes great pride
in showing off her amazing figure, and she goes through more hairstyles
and costume changes than Natalie Portman in the last Star Wars
movie.
If Paltrow's character is underdeveloped, then the supporting
performances don't fare any better. Kelly Preston and Christina
Applegate come and go as fellow flight attendants with different
motives, while Mark Ruffalo (who has yet to find a worthy vehicle
after his incredible performance in 2000's You Can Count on
Me) has the thankless job of being Paltrow's cliched, understanding
boyfriend. At least Candice Bergen provides some words of encouragement
as Paltrow's mentor, while Mike Myers effortlessly steals the
show as the vision-impaired drill instructor at Paltrow's flight
attendant trainee school.
As amiably directed by Bruno Barreto, View from the Top
is a retro-style chick flick that features more colorful outfits
than even Steven Spielberg's Catch
Me if You Can. But when all is said and done, there's
just not much to it. It's lightweight and contrived to an obvious
degree, and in the end, one can't help but wonder how a first-class
actress like Paltrow ended up in a coach vehicle like this in
the first place.
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