Director Wayne Wang proves with Maid in Manhattan that even predictable movies can leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.
Maid in Manhattan (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:54
Rotten:81
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Too blandly generic, Maid in Manhattan also suffers from a lack of chemistry between Lopez and Fiennes.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis:
In Revolution Studios' charming romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan, Jennifer Lopez stars as a hard-working, intelligent and determined single mother who dreams of a better life. While struggling as...
In Revolution Studios' charming romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan, Jennifer Lopez stars as a hard-working, intelligent and determined single mother who dreams of a better life. While struggling as a housekeeper at Manhattan's first-class Beresford Hotel, she falls for a rising politician, who mistakenly assumes she's a socialite guest at the hotel.
Will a hotel worker from the Bronx and a well-heeled gentleman from midtown Manhattan risk it all for a chance at romance?
Marisa Ventura has made a good life for herself and her ten-year-old son, Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey), even if they don't have a lot of money. One Saturday morning Marisa brings Ty to the Beresford. She asks a co-worker to keep an eye on him for her while she and another maid, Stephanie (Marissa Matrone), attend to their chores. One of the hotel guests, a spoiled socialite, Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), asks Marisa to return some designer clothes for her. After Caroline leaves, Stephanie coaxes Marisa into trying them on before taking them back to the store. In an uncharacteristically frivolous moment, Marisa slips into the chic, expensive outfits.
Ty appears at the door with the handsome Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), an aspiring U.S. Senator and one of Manhattan's most eligible bachelors. Ty has come to ask Marisa's permission to walk through Central Park with Christopher and his dog Rufus. Christopher is immediately attracted to Marisa. Assuming she is a hotel guest, he asks her to join them. She is about to refuse, but Stephanie intervenes and accepts for her.
Despite the obvious sparks between them, Marisa is reluctant to encourage Christopher, fearing she'll lose all that she's worked so hard to build. But he pursues her, even though it could compromise his political career.
As romance, mistaken identity and front-page gossip collide, Marisa and Christopher learn that the bigger your dreams, the better the chance they might come true.
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Kevin Wade, Natasha Richardson
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Kevin Wade, Natasha Richardson, Tyler Posey, Marisa Matrone, Stanley Tucci, Bob Hoskins, Chris Eigeman, Amy Sedaris
Director: Wayne Wang
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Producer: Paul Schiff, Deborah Schindler, Elaine Goldsmith
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Maid in Manhattan
Maid in Manhattan handles well one of the most difficult components of the romantic comedy, the contrived Trial Separation.
Maid in Manhattan never pretends to be more than it is: a pretty movie about pretty people in pretty surroundings falling in love -- and on those terms, it's not a bad night at the movies.
Manhattan is nothing more than a trite Christmas present from Lopez. This film seemed to last longer than some of her relationships.
Problem is, there really isn't any dialogue here that suggests that Marisa is truly sassy, or charming, or candid, or that the would-be senator is either brilliant or senatorial, or that her accent-less son is not simply on loan from Hogwarts.
The car battery of romantic comedies: 'Carefully calibrated for maximum manipulative effect.'
So pick up a dust rag and tidy up your room -- you'll have more of an engaging experience than being subject to this baseless, breezy hokum.
There's no palpable chemistry between Lopez and male lead Ralph Fiennes, plus the script by Working Girl scribe Kevin Wade is workmanlike in the extreme.
J. Lo will earn her share of the holiday box office pie, although this movie makes one thing perfectly clear: She's a pretty woman, but she's no working girl.
Maid in Manhattan is a Nora Ephron movie with the cutesiness replaced by genuine charm.
This is the stuff of bread and circuses, a feel-good movie to surprise no one and yet give all us working-class saps a sliver of hope.
Succeeds where many others have failed (Sweet Home Alabama being a recent example) by actually being romantic and side-stepping tedium.
Latest News for Maid in Manhattan
August 13, 2008:
ABC Developing Maid in Manhattan Series ![]()
It's a good week for film-to-TV series adaptations: ABC has added a pilot order for an hourlong Maid in Manhattan dramedy to its plans for a Witches of Eastwick series. More...
November 11, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: Last Holiday
Fans of Queen Latifah will be pleased to know that her newest comedy is called "Last Holiday," it's due for release on January 13th, and the all-new trailer is... More...
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