Taglines: Don’t stop till you reach the top.
Donna Jensen was raised literally and figuratively on the wrong side of the trailer park in Silver Springs, Nevada. She always believed it was her destiny to get out of Silver Springs. After reading Sally Weston’s book, Sally who is arguably the most famous now ex-flight attendant in the world, Donna believes the path to leaving Silver Springs is to become a flight attendant despite never having been on an airplane.
After an initial bumpy start to this career, Donna shows a natural flair for the job, so much so that she applies to work for world class Royal Airlines, where Sally Weston mentors. After meeting Donna, Sally believes Donna is destined for flight attendant greatness, namely working first class in the New York-Paris flights. Donna believes in herself as a flight attendant, but has to overcome some obstacles, including flight attendant trainer John Witney, who has some hidden anger issues, and her friend Christine Montgomery who also wants to be a great flight attendant.
View from the Top is an American romantic comedy film directed by Bruno Barreto, and stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Candice Bergen, Joshua Malina, Mark Ruffalo, Rob Lowe, Mike Myers, and Kelly Preston. The film follows a young woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) from a small town who sets out to fulfill her dream of becoming a flight attendant.
Donna Jensen is a girl from a small town in Nevada who wishes to see the world in order to get away from her unhappy life of living in a trailer with her alcoholic mother, a former Las Vegas showgirl, and her abusive, alcoholic stepfather, where she feels miserable and lonely. After graduating from high school, Donna tries to make ends meet by working as a clerk in a Big Lots to succeed in world.
After her boyfriend, Tommy, leaves her for another girl, she goes to a bar where she sees a talk show segment about Sally Weston, who has written a memoir called My Life in the Sky, and decides to follow her destiny by becoming a flight attendant. Her first position is at a small, seedy California commuter airline called Sierra, where she works with Sherry, a senior attendant, and also gets an intern herself, named Christine. After working for several months, but this success builds her confidence up and encourages her to attend open interviews for Royalty Airlines. She convinces Sherry and Christine to join her at Royalty Airlines. While Christine and Donna get in, Sherry does not, and remains in Sierra Airlines.
After getting the job, Donna puts her heart and soul into the training camp, and, after meeting Weston, she is determined to be assigned to the top route, “Paris, First Class, International”. Alas, when the assignments are posted, Donna is shocked and disappointed to discover that, instead of the top route, she has been assigned to a commuter route in Cleveland. Christine, who had initially struggled with the material and procedures, has inexplicably been assigned the high-priority New York route, much to the dismay of Donna.
A few months later, by chance, Donna runs into Christine in Cleveland. Donna knows from previous experience that Christine has the airplane soap from Sally’s house during their training sessions, but is still shocked when Christine empties her handbag to reveal all manner of Royalty Air items. Even the smallest theft is strictly prohibited by Royalty Airlines, and could mean termination. Still sure there was some sort of error in her route assignment, Donna turns to Weston for help. Through a course of events, Donna discovers that Christine had switched their test booklets when they were being handed up to their trainer.
Directed by: Bruno Barreto
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Candice Bergen, Joshua Malina, Mark Ruffalo, Rob Lowe, Mike Myers, Kelly Preston
Screenplay by: Eric Wald
Cinematography by: Affonso Beato
Film Editing by: Christopher Greenbury, Ray Hubley, Charles Ireland
Costume Design by: Mary Zophres
Set Decoration by: Ellen Brill
Music by: Theodore Shapiro
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language / sexual references.
Studio: Miramax Films
Release Date: March 21, 2003
