View from the Top

View from the Top
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bruno Barreto
Produced by	Brad Grey Matthew Baer Bobby Cohen
Written by	Eric Wald
Starring	Gwyneth Paltrow Christina Applegate Mark Ruffalo Candice Bergen Joshua Malina Kelly Preston Rob Lowe Mike Myers
Music by	Theodore Shapiro Deborah Lurie
Cinematography	Affonso Beato
Edited by	Christopher Greenbury Ray Hubley Charles Ireland
Production company	Brad Grey Pictures
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	March 21, 2003 (2003-03-21)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$19.5 million

View from the Top is a 2003 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 (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.

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, this success builds up her confidence 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 City route, much to the dismay of Donna.