Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) ★★

Review Date: December 13th, 2002

After mistakenly believing she's a guest, a hotel maid catches the eye of an aspiring U.S. senator--and spends the next few hours hiding her true identity and trying not to fall in love with him. Fat chance on both accounts.

Story

Maid in Manhattan is yet another take on the Cinderella story. There are very few surprises, but the film is still somewhat enjoyable despite its predictable setup. Cinderella, aka Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez), is a hardworking, no-nonsense single mom who loves her son Ty (Tyler Posey) and dreams of breaking out of her job as a maid at a five-star hotel in Manhattan. Her Fairy Godmother, aka co-worker Stephanie (Marissa Matrone), unwittingly gives her that chance when she convinces Marisa to try on some expensive clothes left in a suite by the Evil Stepsister, aka spoiled socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), while they're cleaning. In walks Prince Charming, aka Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), an incredibly handsome U.S. senator candidate and the city's most eligible bachelor, and Boom! sparks fly. Chris thinks Marisa is the expensive suite's occupant--and she's too overwhelmed by the domino effect that happens to tell him different. Ah, what a tangled web love at first sight can weave. Marisa spends the rest of the movie trying to cover up her error in judgment while also becoming increasingly drawn to her prince. Will he find out who she really is? Of course. Will it matter in the end? Of course not.

Acting

This may have been created as another vehicle to help further propel the career of actress/singer/designer/fiancee to Ben Affleck J. Lo, but, unexpectedly, someone else comes out of the film looking better--Fiennes. It's little hard even for Jenny on the Block to outshine an Oscar-nominated actor. He elevates the formulaic subject matter and portrays a pretty down-to-earth Prince Charming, without us ever seeing a forced move. I'm curious as to why such a high-caliber actor would choose such a run-of-the-mill project like this, but whatever the reason, he makes it work--at least for his part. Lopez doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it looks like she may have simply cloned the same expressions she put on in her other successful romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner. And unfortunately, Lopez and Fiennes don't share the same kind of heat she shared in that film with Matthew McConaughey or even George Clooney in Out of Sight (still her best performance to date). Yet, they manage to convey a fair amount of good feelings to make the movie palatable. Richardson has a blast playing the rich bitch Caroline, while Matrone, making her film debut, just comes off as annoying and pushy, even if she thinks she's doing the right thing. Thank goodness she is because if things had turned out badly, it would be in Marisa's best interest to go out and shoot her. Stanley Tucci as Christopher's watchdog campaign manager and Bob Hoskins as a senior-level butler at the hotel both do the best they can with silly parts.

Direction

Maid in Manhattan relies so heavily on the been-there-done-that Cinderella formula it becomes one of those romantic comedies you'll end up waiting to watch on cable one Saturday night rather than paying to see in a movie theater. It's really a shame because director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) had some interesting elements to play with, and lots of acting talent to back it up. Perhaps Lopez could have played Marisa more wacky than so serious, maybe try to show some comic ability. It would be a nice change of pace to think out of the box for once--what if the lovestruck pair didn't get together in the end? (I know, the film would have fallen flat on its face.) But instead, Maid wallows in predictability and implausibility. Christopher falls a little too hard and a little too fast for reality. Also, it's hard to believe a maid would have access to all the hotel's amenities as Marisa does--borrowing a Harry Winston diamond necklace from the hotel jewelry store for the gala event? Unlikely, to say the least. The only aspect of the film that stands out is the sneak peek you get into the inner workings of a top-notch hotel. It's definitely a world you don't get to see very often.

Bottom Line

Maid in Manhattan doesn't give you anything new in the romantic comedy department but the lead actors are still engaging enough to keep you occupied.