View From The Top

Reviewed by EWAN McDONALD

Herald rating: * *

Just before Christmas, the Herald ran a piece that mused on the difference between celebrity and talent among Hollywood's biggest names, and pointed out the surprising fact that only one of Gwyneth Paltrow's movies can be called a box-office blockbuster (Shakespeare in Love).

Put that down to some odd choices, like the execrable Shallow Hal and the oddball The Royal Tenenbaums — and this one, which crosses a number of genres from satire to romantic comedy.

Like Down With Love, released a couple of weeks ago, the director has gone for a 60s look, though this time it's pop-art rather than cocktail.

Donna Jensen is a small-town girl who dreams of getting out, which she achieves by joining little Sierra Airlines ("Big hair, short skirts and service with a smile") as a ... sorry, flight attendant. The hair and the air between home and Fresno are not big enough.

Donna applies to larger Royalty Airlines, where she will work for the got-up-and-gone Sally Weston (Candice Bergen), provided she passes the interview with an off-the-wall flight instructor (Mike Myers in a cameo that is funnier than most of the Austin Powers movies combined). But if she gets the new job, Donna will fly away from her law student boyfriend, Ted (Mark Ruffalo).

Down With Love succeeded at its pastiche of an earlier generation of movies because its writers, director and cast knew what they were spoofing. Here, no one's quite sure, and the thing just doesn't fly.

DVD features: movie (87 min); features, History of the Flight Attendant, A Journey Inside the Movie, Music of the Movie.