Maid in Manhattan (2002)

Maid in Manhattan (2002)

 

6/10

Starring

Jennifer Lopez

Ralph Fiennes

Natasha Richardson

Directed by Wayne Wang

In short, this movie is not spectacular, just done in the most simplest way, treading carefully not to digress from the generic Cinderella plot. If you have seen any movie with the Cinderella plot line dressed up, you have seen this.

I recall in the early 2000s, when my sister practically begged me to watch this flick and I stayed away as much as I can because. One, I did not know who Jennifer Lopez (JLO) was back then and two, as a young adult all I wanted to see was action films. This Rom-Com was a hit back then among the ladies and I have seen it so many times after.

This is not one of JLO’s best acting work and the script had holes here and there, but the soundtrack and the story is always fresh anytime I sit to re-watch. The movie is easy on the eye and easy to follow. I can point out many things in this movie which fall short of a good work but my love for the late Natasha Richardson grew in this movie. For me she was one of the few cast members who made this movie worth seeing again and again. The chemistry between JLO and Ralph Fiennes was not there, and the story is easy as it is the generic Cinderella story with no spark. Just something simple for people like me who just want to sit through an easy movie that reminds us of the past and not care much.

The plot is about a maid (Marisa, JLO) in a hotel who when trying on clothes of one of the guest (she did a bad thing) was met by a popular figure (Chris, Fiennes) who met her through her son. She was pushed to go on a walk with Chris by her co-worker as her son wanted to take a walk with initially and sought her permission to go. Since the co-worker and Marisa did not expect this to turn into anything, they could not handle the romance that kindle between the two on their walk.

Now Chris is hooked and wants to meet with Marisa again, but he thinks she is the guest of the suite and when he sent an invite to the room someone else shows up.

He soon finds her again, and wants to go out with her and she has to worry about her job and the others she has dragged into this lie she is in.

The movie did well in the box-office even though it was not a critical hit. It is one of those movies who was so popular which got remade in other countries. In fact there is a Telenovela version running based on this tale.

For me, this is one of those movies that gives me a fun nostalgia of my time growing up.