Woman on Top

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Woman on Top
Image:Woman on Top film.jpg Woman on Top film poster
Directed by	Fina Torres
Produced by	Alan Poul
Written by	Vera Blasi
Starring	Penélope Cruz Murilo Benício Harold Perrineau Jr. Mark Feuerstein
Music by	Luis Bacalov
Cinematography	Thierry Arbogast
Editing by	Leslie Jones
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s)	September 22, 2000
Running time	92 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

Woman on Top is a 2000 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Fina Torres. It is set in Brazil and San Francisco. The film stars Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau Jr. and Mark Feuerstein.

• Tagline: It's gonna be one hot season.

Plot summary

All her life, Isabella has suffered from motion sickness. Because of her illness she couldn't play much with other children. She stays at home and learns how to cook, becoming a renowned chef as an adult. She falls in love with Toninho and they open 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 must be on top during sex. Toninho feels emasculated by this and has an affair with a neighbor. Isabella flees Brasil for San Francisco and her friend Monica, an African-American transsexual who spent her early years in Isabella's fishing village. 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 foundering 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.

Isabella, with her love still gone but now wanting it returned, tries to cook another sacrifice to Yemanja but finds her cooking talent is gone. Undaunted, Monica substitutes some boxed macaroni and cheese. Isabella makes the second offering but nearly drowns. She has a vision of Yemanja, who rejects her new offering.

Isabella goes to collect her things from the television studio. Toninho, sent by Monica, shows up and suggests they cook something together. As they cook, the fish return to the village waters and Yemanja returns Isabella's original offering along with her love for Toninho.

The film closes with Toninho and Isabella operating a new restaurant as equal partners and with Cliff and Monica as a couple.

External link

• Woman on Top at the Internet Movie Databasede:Woman on Top

Wikipedia information about Woman on Top This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Woman on Top". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.