'Maid in Manhattan' may satisfy incurable romantics
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
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| MAID IN MANHATTAN (Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexual inference) Two-and-a-half stars (Fair to good).
A Cinderella saga about a Manhattan hotel chambermaid (Jennifer Lopez) who catches the eye of a wealthy politician (Ralph Fiennes) who has no idea of her job or her background. Will the glass slipper fit? Bob Hoskins and Natasha Richardson co-star for director Wayne Wang. Columbia, 105 minutes. |
How many times have we seen tales of exceptional women, trapped in a lowly station, who manage to slip on a glass slipper, literally or figuratively, and rise to grandeur? And more often than not, grandeur is typified by a prince of a fellow.
The new J-Lo movie, "Maid in Manhattan" is the latest variation. Jennifer Lopez stars as Marisa Ventura, a hotel maid in a posh midtown hotel.
One day, as a goof with a fellow maid, Marisa tries on a $5,000 clothing ensemble by Dolce & Gabbana while cleaning a society lady's suite.
At just that moment, Marisa's 10-year-old son barges into the room to see his mom — and he's got a new friend in tow: handsome New York state Assemblyman Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a scion of a high-positioned New York family.
The two had met moments earlier on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, where Marshall was walking his dog. The boy was seeking Mom's permission to join Marshall and the dog for a walk in the park.
Caught in a potentially embarrassing situation, Marisa pretends to be the society woman and joins her son, the dog and the handsome assemblyman for a walk in Central Park. It's this film's version of Cinderella going to the ball.
The rest of the film involves the politician and the lovely stranger in a romantic cat-and-mouse game. He's trying to discover who she is. She's trying to break off the relationship because she considers it unrealistic. And she's also trying to protect her own reputation because she's up for a promotion to management at the hotel.
Of course the romance becomes fodder for New York's newspapers, given the assemblyman's high profile, so paparazzi are everywhere.
As for performances, Lopez seems frequently to drift through the film in a romantic haze, trying for an uptown variation of Julia Roberts.
Ralph Fiennes has a certain charm — playing Marshall with a gracious but well-heeled aura, not unlike his portrait of Charles Van Doren in "Quiz Show."
Each major character has helpful sidekicks. For Lopez, it's Marissa Matrone as another hotel maid and Bob Hoskins as a hotel butler. For Fiennes, it's Stanley Tucci, as a somewhat-frantic campaign manager. Of the three, Hoskins comes off best — a first-rate actor helping elevate the project with a subtle, heart-felt performance.
The script by Kevin Wade — from a John Hughes story — is utilitarian and modestly amusing. Echoes vibrate from two other famous Cinderella variations — "Pretty Woman" and "Working Girl." (It figures: Wade also wrote "Working Girl.")
Romantic comedies and date movies are rare this holiday season. So, if the mood strikes, "Maid in Manhattan" will probably satisfy it. But just barely.
Rated PG-13, profanity, sexual inference.
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