Taglines: a sexy, delicious fairy tale.
Isabella is a great cook, making her husband’s restaurant in Bahia, Brazil, a success. To control her motion sickness, she must do the driving and be on top during sex, which drives her macho husband, Toninho, to infidelities. Heart-broken, she leaves for San Francisco, moving in with her childhood friend, Monica, a cross-dresser.
To mend her heart, she makes an offering to Yemanja, the goddess of the sea. The goddess responds: Isabella no longer loves and the fish in Bahia no longer bite. Stricken, Toninho heads north to get her back; he finds her hosting a popular TV show, Passion Food, courted by its producer. Can he learn humility? Can she find happiness without him?
Woman on Top is a 2000 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Fina Torres, written by Vera Blasi, and starring Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau Jr., Mark Feuerstein, Ana Gasteyer, Analu De Castro, Anne Ramsay, Eduardo Mattedi and Ana Paula Oliveira.
The film opened at #10 at the North American box office, earning $2,008,191 in its opening weekend. Ultimately, the film grossed $5,020,111 in North America playing at a high of 1,086 theaters; overseas, it grossed $5,174,163 for a worldwide total of $10,194,274, becoming a modest box office success against an $8 million budget.
About the Story
All her life, Isabella has suffered from motion sickness. Because of her illness she couldn’t play much with other children. She stayed at home and learned how to cook, becoming a renowned chef as an adult. She fell in love with Toninho and they opened a restaurant together, with Isabella stuck in the kitchen and Toninho out front taking the credit.
The only way for Isabella to control her motion sickness is to control her motion. She must drive, take stairs instead of elevators, lead while dancing, and be on top during coitus. Feeling emasculated by this, Toninho has an affair with a neighbor. Isabella flees Brazil for San Francisco with her Afro-Brazilian transsexual friend, who spent her early years with her in the fishing community of Salvador.
Despite old job offers from a number of restaurants, Isabella is unable to find a job until she takes over a cooking class at a local culinary school. Cliff, a neighbor and local television producer, smells her cooking, follows her to class and signs her to host a live cooking show, Passion Food. She makes Monica her assistant on the show. Isabella performs a sacrifice to Yemanja, a Brazilian sea goddess, to harden her heart and make her never love Toninho again.
Back in Brazil, Toninho’s restaurant is floundering without Isabella. Toninho curses Yemanja, and the fishermen stop catching any fish. He figures out that Isabella has gone to Monica and follows her to San Francisco. He spots her on television and tracks her to the studio. With a group of local street musicians, Toninho sneaks into the studio and onto the set, serenading Isabella on the live broadcast. Cliff hires Toninho and the musicians for the show over Isabella’s objections. Isabella pursues a relationship with Cliff but Toninho continues trying to win her back.
Network executives offer to syndicate Isabella’s show nationally, but only after demanding a number of changes, including firing Monica. With the restaurant closed, Toninho apologizes to Yemanja, but tells her to “stay out of [his] business” with Isabella. He quits the show and makes another attempt to win back Isabella. Isabella goes after him but has to take an elevator, and her motion sickness slows her enough to allow Toninho to depart. Isabella also quits the show rather than accept the changes demanded by the network.
Woman on Top (2000)
Directed by: Fina Torres
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau Jr., Mark Feuerstein, Ana Gasteyer, Analu De Castro, Anne Ramsay, Eduardo Mattedi, Ana Paula Oliveira
Screenplay by: Vera Blasi
Production Design by: Philippe Chiffre
Cinematography by: Thierry Arbogast
Film Editing by: Leslie Jones
Costume Design by: Elisabeth Tavernier
Set Decoration by: Monica Rochlin
Art Direction by: Alexandre Meyer
Music by: Luis Bacalov
MPAA Rating: R for some strong sexuality and language.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: September 22, 2000
Visits: 187
