View from the Top

{{Infobox film

| name = View from the Top

| image = View from the top poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Bruno Barreto

| producer = Brad Grey
Matthew Baer
Bobby Cohen

| writer = Eric Wald

| starring =

{{plainlist|

}}

| music = Theodore Shapiro

| cinematography = Affonso Beato

| editing = Christopher Greenbury
Ray Hubley
Charles Ireland

| studio = Brad Grey Pictures

| distributor = Miramax Films

| released = {{Film date|2003|03|21}}

| runtime = 87 minutes{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/view-top-2003-0 | title=VIEW FROM THE TOP (PG) | work=British Board of Film Classification | date=May 22, 2003 | access-date=November 8, 2014 | archive-date=November 8, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108220745/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/view-top-2003-0 | url-status=dead }}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $30 million

| gross = $19.5 million

}}

View from the Top is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Bruno Barreto and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Candice Bergen, Joshua Malina, Mark Ruffalo, Rob Lowe, Mike Myers, and Kelly Preston. The film follows a young woman (Paltrow) from a small town who sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant.

Plot

Donna Jensen, living in a Nevada trailer with her alcoholic mother and abusive stepfather, desperately wants to get away. After graduating high school, Donna struggles to earn a living working as a clerk in a Big Lots store with her high school boyfriend.

After her boyfriend leaves her, Donna sees a TV interview with Sally Weston, a former flight attendant who wrote a memoir titled, My Life in the Sky. Donna becomes a flight attendant for Sierra Airlines, a small, seedy regional airline. She works with senior attendant Sherry and Christine Montgomery. During this time, she meets Ted Stewart. Donna wants to apply to Royalty Airlines, and convinces Sherry and Christine to do the same. While Christine and Donna are hired, Sherry is not, and she remains with Sierra.

Donna studies hard, and, after meeting Sally Weston, is determined to be assigned to the top position, "Paris, First Class, International". After training, Donna is shocked and disappointed to be assigned to a domestic route in Cleveland while Christine, who struggled during the training and learning the material, inexplicably is assigned the high-priority New York City route.

Although unhappy in Cleveland, Donna begins a relationship with Ted. A few months later, Donna runs into Christine. As they spend time together, Donna is shocked that Christine has stolen Royalty Air items in her handbag, because even the smallest theft could result in termination.

Donna suspects some error occurred in her route assignment. With Weston's help, Donna discovers that Christine switched their test I.D. numbers during their final exam.

Weston has airline security spy on Christine. Caught stealing, she is fired. Donna re-takes the exam, achieving a perfect score. She is assigned to a Paris, First Class, International route, though it means ending her relationship with Ted.

Donna soon realizes that she is lonely and unhappy and she misses Ted. With Weston's encouragement, she returns to Cleveland and she and Ted reconcile. The film ends with Donna wishing her passengers well as they land in Cleveland, though she is now a pilot.

Cast

{{Cast listing|

Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna Jenson
Chelsey Cole as Donna Jenson (age 6)
Christina Applegate as Christine Montgomery
Mark Ruffalo as Ted Stewart
Candice Bergen as Sally Weston
Joshua Malina as Randy Jones
Kelly Preston as Sherry
Rob Lowe as Co-Pilot Steve
Mike Myers as John Whitney
Marc Blucas as Tommy Boulay
Stacey Dash as Angela Samona
Jon Polito as Roy Roby
Concetta Tomei as Mrs. Stewart
Robyn Peterson as Donna's Mom
Nadia Dajani as Paige
John Francis Daley as Rodney

}}

Production

In September 2000, it was announced Gwyneth Paltrow was in negotiations to star in View from the Top.{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/news/stew-s-tale-on-runway-1117786907/|title= Stew's tale on runway |publisher=Variety|access-date=February 14, 2024}} First time screenwriter Eric Wald was written as a spec script which was developed by Brad Grey before being sold to Miramax. Rewrites were performed on the script by Roger Kumble.

Soundtrack

{{Infobox album

| name = View from the Top: Motion Picture Soundtrack

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = Various

| cover =

| alt =

| released = March 18, 2003

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre =

| length =

| label = Curb Records

| producer = Mike Curb, Michael Lloyd

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Performer(s)

| total_length =

| title1 = Suddenly

| extra1 = LeAnn Rimes

| writer1 = Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child

| length1 = 4:00

| title2 = No Sign of It

| note2 = Humberto Gatica radio edit

| extra2 = Natalie Grant

| writer2 = Scott Cutler, Anne Preven

| length2 = 4:03

| title3 = Was That My Life

| extra3 = Jo Dee Messina

| writer3 = Marv Green, Bill Luther

| length3 = 3:49

| title4 = I'm Not Anybody's Girl

| extra4 = Kaci

| writer4 = Jason Levine, Jay McCollum

| length4 = 3:13

| title5 = I've Been Waiting

| extra5 = Sixpence None the Richer

| writer5 = Matt Slocum

| length5 = 4:18

| title6 = Boys Don't Cry

| extra6 = Plumb

| writer6 = Tiffany Arbuckle Lee, Matt Bronleewe

| length6 = 3:48

| title7 = Utopia

| extra7 = Sofia Loell

| writer7 = Johan Glössner, Sofia Loell

| length7 = 3:42

| title8 = Circle of Love

| extra8 = Tamara Walker

| writer8 = Del Harley, Allan Koppelberger, Laurie Webb

| length8 = 3:41

| title9 = The Bus Ride

| extra9 = Anna Wilson

| writer9 = Gary Burr, Matt Rollings, Anna Wilson

| length9 = 3:54

| title10 = Sincerely

| extra10 = G.G.

| writer10 = Alan Freed, Harvey Fuqua

| length10 = 3:15

| title11 = Time After Time

| extra11 = Katie Cook

| writer11 = Rob Hyman, Cyndi Lauper

| length11 = 4:04

| title12 = Everywhere I Look, There's You

| extra12 = Tamara Walker

| writer12 = Michael Behymer, Mike Curb, Michael Lloyd

| length12 = 3:57

}}

; Bonus tracks

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Performer(s)

| total_length =

| title13 = Tickle Me

| extra13 = Danielle Spencer

| writer13 = Danielle Spencer

| length13 = 3:48

| title14 = Downtime

| extra14 = Jo Dee Messina

| writer14 = Phillip Coleman, Carolyn Dawn Johnson

| length14 = 3:43

| title15 = Suddenly

| note15 = Riva radio edit

| extra15 = LeAnn Rimes

| writer15 = Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child

| length15 = 4:08

}}

Release and reception

View from the Top opened on March 21, 2003 (it was originally scheduled for Christmas 2001, but in light of the September 11 attacks and due to the fact that the story revolves around a flight attendant on numerous planes, the release was pushed back) and grossed $7,009,513 in its opening weekend, ranking number four behind Bringing Down the House, Dreamcatcher, and Agent Cody Banks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2003&wknd=12&p=.htm|title=Domestic 2003 Weekend 12|access-date=February 19, 2020|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142224/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2003&wknd=12&p=.htm|url-status=live}} The film would eventually gross $15,614,000 domestically and $3,912,014 internationally, totaling $19,526,014 worldwide, below the production budget of $30 million.{{mojo title|viewfromthetop|View from the Top}}

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 14% based on reviews from 123 critics, with the site's consensus "Uneven in tone and badly edited, View From the Top wastes the talents of its cast and condescends to its characters."{{rotten-tomatoes|view_from_the_top|View from the Top}} Paltrow herself later disparaged the film, calling it "the worst movie ever".{{cite magazine|first=Karen|last=Valby|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/11/21/gwyneth-paltrow-her-worst-movie-ever/|title=Gwyneth Paltrow on her worst movie EVER!|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|publisher=Meredith Corporation|location=New York City|date=November 21, 2003|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143928/http://ew.com/article/2003/11/21/gwyneth-paltrow-her-worst-movie-ever/|url-status=live}}

British comedian Richard Ayoade wrote the book Ayoade on Top, an in-depth comic analysis of the film, in 2019.{{cite web |title=Ayoade On Top |url=https://guardianbookshop.com/ayoade-on-top-9780571339136.html |website=guardianbookshop.com |access-date=21 September 2019 |language=en |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921142152/https://guardianbookshop.com/ayoade-on-top-9780571339136.html |url-status=live }}Under the Skin with Russell Brand, Episode #97: "Art, Greatness & "Turning" (with Richard Ayoade)." 13 September 2019. A portion of the promotional blurb for the book reads: "Ayoade argues for the canonisation of this brutal masterpiece, a film that celebrates capitalism in all its victimless glory; one we might imagine Donald Trump himself half-watching on his private jet's gold-plated flat screen while his other puffy eye scans the cabin for fresh, young prey."{{Cite book|title=Amazon.com|isbn=1713541343 }}{{Cite web|title=Ayoade on Top|url=https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571339136-ayoade-on-top.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=Public Store View|language=en|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030110839/https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571339136-ayoade-on-top.html|url-status=live}}