Perhaps the fact that this film about “flying the friendly skies” was in the can pre-9/11 has something to do with its choppy route. However, the reason “View From the Top” never really takes off has more to do with first time screenwriter Eric Wald’s stale script and director Bruno Barreto’s half-baked filmmaking than any delays or other cop-out reasoning.
The movie focuses on a small town girl, Donna Jensen (Gwyneth Paltrow), restlessly stuck in her small town world. An appearance on a talk show by the queen of flight attendants, Sally Weston (Candace Bergen), inspires Donna to indulge in her own fantasy of becoming a stewardess. Her ambitions snag her a position at Sierra Airlines, boasting the motto, “big hair, short skirts, and service with a smile.” Enough said.
A budding relationship is clipped between her and former law student Ted (Mark Ruffalo, “You Can Count on Me”) as she teams up with two fellow flight attendants (including Christina Applegate) to seek out a job with a more “professional” airline. Under the cross-eyed watch of their flight school instructor (Mike Myers), Donna and Christina join Royalty Airlines. Due to some mysterious scandal, Donna is stripped of her dream of serving caviar to first class passengers. Nevertheless, Donna’s professional setback allows her to pursue a romantic relationship with Ted. As Sally Weston intervenes to unravel the scandal, Donna is now faced with a new dilemma: A perfectly clich