Woman on Top

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Woman on Top

R

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.

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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Jane Crowther

BBC.com

04/16/2001

3/5

Torres' playful and whimsical film is the ideal tonic for the winter blues, bursting with sunshine, fantasy, and mouth-wateringly fiery food.

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Susan Stark

Detroit News

01/01/2000

2/4

Flavor? Amusingly piquant with traces of honey. Aftertaste? Thin.

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Elvis Mitchell

New York Times

01/01/2000

2.5/5

This would-be spicy film has been made blandly palatable.

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Jan Stuart

The Advocate

04/05/2022

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

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

11/25/2020

2/4

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

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B. Ruby Rich

San Francisco Bay Guardian

02/26/2020

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

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Horror fan 4

@Horrorfan4life 06/29/2024

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

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Thomas W

@Enigma0999 05/29/2023

only thing anygood is penélope cruz.

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01/02/2022

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

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07/12/2020

I personally love the movie!!!

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09/24/2018

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

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Steve S

@RT32687682 11/12/2014

***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.***

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Fina Torres

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Isabella Oliveira

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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)