Upgraded

IN A NUTSHELL: The film was directed by Carlson Young. The story is about Ana, a young assistant working in the art world. When she gets upgraded to First Class on her Transatlantic flight, she meets handsome Will, who mistakes Ana for her boss, Claire. A white lie then sets off a chain of events, romance, and difficult situations that threaten to reveal the lies she has told. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity, including F-bombs Lots of alcohol There are some crude conversations. Adult bullying is portrayed. THEMES: Art Women supporting women Competition Self-confidence Fighting to make your dreams come true Love Honesty Connections Hard work THINGS I LIKED: Marisa Tomei’s accent was hilarious…in a good way. She’s always fantastic in everything she does. One of the characters says she heard Marisa Tomei’s character was from Mitonka, Minnesota. Ha ha Camila Mendes is the leading lady. She does a great and believable job. Lena Olin, Fola Evans-Akingbola, and Rachel Matthews all look stunning. All of the characters are extremely likable except for the ones we’re supposed to not like. I actually wanted to spend more time with some of the more interesting ones. There’s a funny shoutout to the movie Top Gun: Maverick, that someone uses to try to convince someone else to join the Navy. There’s a lot of subtle humor. Like many rom-coms, New York City is one of the characters in this movie. We get to travel to London in this movie! I’ve been there many times and love it. I still haven’t seen everything yet, so I welcome another trip there any time! I love that we don’t have to watch sex scenes when the featured couple meets. They actually take the time to get to know each other first. How refreshing. Have you ever flown in First Class? I had a friend who treated me to it on a long flight a number of years ago. It was heavenly! I suppose I could pay for First Class on my long flights but given the choice, I’d rather save the extra money to buy myself another vacation, which is what I do. Still, one of the things on my Bucket List is to get one of those ultra-expensive First Class seats that has its own beds. THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE: Like all rom-coms, it’s extremely predictable. I know there are many British accents, but I thought all of them said “schedule” differently than Americans. One of the British characters said it like an American, so I had to look him up to see if he was really American. Nope, he really is American. Any insights on that?

A modern day retelling of Cindrella. Very formulaic and predictable but refreshing given its modern day setting of the characters. Camila Mendes is very charming and interesting in her portrayal of her character.