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 simplest way, carefully sticking to the generic Cinderella plot. If you’ve seen any movie with a dressed-up Cinderella storyline, you’ve seen this one.

I remember back in the early 2000s when my sister practically begged me to watch this flick. I avoided it as much as I could because, first, I didn’t know who Jennifer Lopez (JLO) was back then, and second, as a young adult, all I wanted to watch were action films. This rom-com was a big hit among the ladies at the time, and I’ve seen it so many times since.

This isn’t one of JLO’s best acting performances, and the script has its holes here and there, but the soundtrack and story still feel fresh every time I rewatch it. The movie is easy on the eyes and simple to follow. I can point out a lot of things in this movie that fall short of being great, but my love for the late Natasha Richardson grew because of it. 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 wasn’t there, and the story sticks to the generic Cinderella plot without much spark. It’s just something simple for people like me who want an easy movie to sit through, something that reminds us of the past without requiring too much thought.

The plot is about a maid, Marisa (JLO), who works in a hotel. One day, while trying on clothes belonging to a guest (yes, she did a bad thing), she meets a popular figure, Chris (Fiennes), through her son. Marisa’s co-worker encourages her to go on a walk with Chris after her son asks for permission to go, not expecting anything serious to come of it. To their surprise, a romance begins to kindle between Marisa and Chris during that walk.

Chris becomes smitten and wants to see Marisa again, but he mistakes her for the guest of the suite. When he sends an invitation to the room, someone else shows up instead. Eventually, Chris finds Marisa again and wants to go out with her, but now she has to worry about her job and the web of lies she’s caught in.

The movie performed well at the box office, even though it wasn’t a critical hit. It was so popular that it inspired remakes in other countries, including a telenovela version based on the same tale.

For me, this is one of those movies that brings back fun nostalgia from my younger days. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s an easy watch that still makes me smile.

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