Rating: 
Summary: Did you see the same movie?
Review: This is a WONDERFUL movie with sensuous music, food, and locations. If you think there isn't a connection between passion and food, you've never had a truly spectacular meal cooked for you by someone you love (or cooked one for someone you love....) Penelope Cruz is fabulous in this movie - conveying the pain and anguish caused by her husband... (I don't want to give it away...) I think it is much more light hearted sensuous enjoyment than some of the other "food movies". The cast is tremendously enjoyable, and if you are a fan of latin music, the sountrack for this film is luminous!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasure to watch. Totally entertaining.
Review: This is beautiful and sensual movie filled with Brazilian culture and folklore that is a feast to your senses. You can almost feel the burn of the chili pepper and smell the fragrance of the aromatic coffee that makes the San Francisco men follow Isabella in the streets. The movie is colorful and mystical and a large part of its charm is due to the amazing Penelope Cruz (an actress I learned to admire not only for her beauty but also for her acting talent after watching her in the Spanish movie "Sin Noticias de Dios") who totally controls the screen.
Isabella (Penelope Cruz) has had the motion sickness since she was a little girl. She feels bad in every kind of motion, unless she controls the movement - this is also true regarding sex; she has to lead. Isabella is a cook in her husband's restaurant. She does well and cooks delicious foods, but somehow feels neglected - as she is left back in the kitchen. Tonino (Murilo Benicio), her husband, feels he is not a man enough being "led" by his wife. And so, one night Isabella catches him in the hands of another woman, and runs away to San Francisco to try and build a new life for herself. She hopes to try and relive her dreams of fame which she threw away when she married Tonino. Isabella heads to San Francisco to live with her old friend Monica, a transvestite.
In San Francisco Isabella gains fame by having her own cooking show. She is also courted by Cliff (Mark Feuerstein), the producer of the show, who is attracted to the Brazilian magic. Meanwhile back in Bahaia Tonino is facing a lot of trouble. Having cursed Yimanza, the goddess of the sea, in a burst of anger, bad luck knocks on his door. All the fisherman are upset at him as the fish do not come to their nets. Customers stay away from his restaurant and he cannot live without Isabella. So, Tonino heads to San Francisco to try and get Isabella back.
The movie is a combination of reality and myth. The gods, so the movie begins, have given Isabella incredible beauty. The gods, and especially Yimanza, the goddess of the sea, control the love and faith of our heroes and respond to their gifts and wishes. Human beings are controlled by faith and there are those who belong to each other. On the other hand, this is also a movie that has something to say about feminine strength and its power, in spite of gods and men. Isabella has to struggle but she is able to get her own way. Between the lines the movie also has a lot of criticisem about the American and the American televeision culture and maybe its lack of warmth vs. the Brazilian culture. There are a lot of cooking scenes where Isabella explains to her viewers how to cook this or that sauce while intertwining this with her life philosophy (always share the dish with someone you love). The men watching her show sit groaning against the screen and I must admit - she is a delicious sight.
Penelope Cruz is able to portray sensuality and innocence at the same time. She is the one who makes this movie what it is. The other actors are a little pale next to her, except the incredible Monica (Harold Perrineau Jr.) who sometimes manages to steal the show. All in all, this is a fun, entertaining movie.
Rating:
Summary: Tons of fun
Review: This romantic and romantic story, with elements of "Like Water for Chocolate" or "A Walk in the Clouds", is also incredibly funny and sensuous. Isabela flees her native Brasil to escape her domineering and filandering husband, and she comes to San Francisco to stay with her drag queen friend Monica. Isabela ends up working at a chef school, where a TV producer offers her a morning cooking show. He, and every male around, falls in love with her, and then her husband arrives. Much humor ensues in this delightfully madcap, romantic tale. I love how everyone ends up in love at the end, including Monica!
Rating:
Summary: Share it with someone you love
Review: To truly appreciate this film, you need to take it with a grain of salt. It's meant to be a fable, not a step-by-step realistic coming of age film of a woman, her cheating husband, her transvestite friend and a fish-hording goddess to the luscious bossa nova beat.This is a fun film, sumptuous and seductive in it's own right without taking itself too seriously. Penelope Cruz does a great job as Isabella in her first American production. It's hard not to be charmed by her.
Rating: 
Summary: Deliciously edible!
Review: While it may not be the best movie with a mix of comedy or drama, there is a good enough mix to give you an interest. And after interest, there is nothing better than watching someone cook, and do it so seductively as Penelope Cruz. The Brazilian music is deeply enchanting and lures you into the plot of the movie. The plot is not difficult to understand, basically a love story, a passion for love intermingled with food. A delightful movie if you're in the movie for something not too comedic, not too dramatic - and just in the movie for a popcorn movie.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely charming!
Review: Woman on Top was one of my favorite movies of 2000. The caveat, though, is that the viewer must allow for the references to Brazilian voodoo beliefs; if you are too much of a pragmatist, you will not enjoy this movie. The movie is a peppy, comic, urban fairy tale that is thoroughly enjoyable. Penelope Cruz has never looked lovelier, and the movie provides a nice break from the real world. The soundtrack is also quite wonderful and has been the only CD in my car for 5 months.
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