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Woman on Top

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Woman on Top

R

Released Sep 22, 2000

1h 25m

Romance

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

100 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Set to the intoxicating rhythms of Brazil, Woman on Top is a spicy, sexy comedy about the magic of food, love and music. Meet Isabella, a sultry enchantress born with the special gift of melting the palates and hearts of men everywhere. When she decides to break free from her rocky marriage and the stifling kitchen of her husband's restaurant in Brazil, she spirits off to San Francisco in pursuit of her dreams of a real culinary career.

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Critics Consensus

Despite Penelope Cruz's beauty and charm, the movie is too tepid to be a romance and too silly to be believable. And the movie is too eager to please with an ending that seems more like a cop out.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: D+

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 2/4

Apr 25, 2003

Full Review

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Rated: 1.5/5

Jun 4, 2001

Full Review

Jan Stuart

The Advocate

Torres directs it all with the requisite Doris Day sparkle and fizz, plus a heady dose of samba and scenery.

Apr 5, 2022

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an exceedingly lighthearted romantic comedy that never quite manages to achieve liftoff...

Rated: 2/4

Nov 25, 2020

Full Review

B. Ruby Rich

San Francisco Bay Guardian

Shut off the analytic sector of your brain, and the rest of you can, have a thoroughly pleasant night out at the movie theater.

Feb 26, 2020

Full Review

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Horror fan 4

Penelope Cruz is the only standout in this movie. The story is cheesy and predictable.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/24

Full Review

Thomas W

only thing anygood is penélope cruz.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Started well and the premise seemed cool but the supernatural/magic bits kinda eeeeh not for me. Too much singing and music and at times seemed a bit of... fetishising cooking and some cultural aspects. A bit of a disappointment

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I personally love the movie!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The term 'magical realism' is usually an oxymoron. Here? Just a moron.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

***Due to the recent RT changes that have basically ruined my past reviews, I am mostly only giving a rating rather than a full review.***

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Fina Torres

Director

Penélope Cruz

Isabella Oliveira

Murilo Benício

Toninho Oliveira

Harold Perrineau

Monica Jones

Mark Feuerstein

Cliff Lloyd

John de Lancie

Alex Reeves

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Synopsis

Set to the intoxicating rhythms of Brazil, Woman on Top is a spicy, sexy comedy about the magic of food, love and music. Meet Isabella, a sultry enchantress born with the special gift of melting the palates and hearts of men everywhere. When she decides to break free from her rocky marriage and the stifling kitchen of her husband's restaurant in Brazil, she spirits off to San Francisco in pursuit of her dreams of a real culinary career.

Director: Fina Torres
Screenwriter: Vera Blasi
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Fox Searchlight
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 22, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.0M
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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