As about the 1-millionth variation of the dependable Cinderella theme, wherein a beautiful woman is revealed to her Prince Charming as nothing but a plain Jane in fancy clothes (but he loves her anyway), Maid In Manhattan does nothing to discredit its pedigree.
It doesn't do much to bring glory to it, either.
The very definition of a piece of cinematic fluff, the movie stars Jennifer Lopez as Marisa, an upstanding, conscientious maid at a posh Manhattan hotel who seemingly has her feet firmly planted on the ground. While friends and co-workers endlessly jawbone about upscale fantasies, Marisa aspires to the far-more-practical: She wants to be seen as management material by her hotel bosses.
Her best friend, sass-mouthed Stephanie (Marissa Matrone), plays a dual role. First, she's the one constantly pushing Marisa to not settle for a maid's life when she's got the potential for so much more. But she's also an insufferable mischief-maker whose best intentions can't altogether mask her rampant irresponsibility. As the former, she secretly fills out a management job application for Marisa. As the latter, she goads her into a piece of business that could get them both fired: When a flighty English businesswoman (Natasha Richardson, having a blast) asks Marisa to return an expensive designer dress for her, Stephanie persuades her friend to try it on.
Wouldn't you know it - just as she's walking out to show off how perfectly everything fits her, who should walk in but Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a rich, handsome senatorial candidate with a reputation for being a playboy. He gets one look at glammed-up Marisa and is smitten. The two end up taking a long walk together, accompanied by Marisa's precocious 10-year-old son, Ty (cute touch: he's a '70s nut obsessed with Richard Nixon), and the romance quietly blossoms.
Ah, but rough seas are ahead. What happens when he realizes she's just a maid? What happens when the hotel manager discovers she's been wearing a guest's clothes? And what happens when Ty discovers just who Richard Nixon really was?
That last quandary is never resolved, but the other two are. And no one scores bonus points for guessing there's a happy ending involved.
Fiennes unsuccessfully tries to win us over with just a smirk and a twinkle; he never seems willing to let himself go. Better are Stanley Tucci as his put-upon campaign manager and Tyler Garcia Posey as Ty; he's the rare child actor who doesn't act as though "cute" is the only adjective worth striving for.
Lopez, looking to soften her image a tad after edgier fare like The Cell and Angel Eyes, makes for a beguiling Marisa, believably frustrated as a maid, believably liberated in her fancy duds. But while she's never less than likable, she doesn't manage to be as unceasingly embraceable as another actress who parlayed playing a Cinderella clone to superstardom.
Unlike Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Lopez seems a little too comfortable in her new duds, which prevents the audience from rooting for her with passion, rather than just appreciation. And a big speech toward the end, where Marisa rails at her mother for not aspiring to be better than she is, feels tacked on; who knew this movie had a social conscience?
Maid in Manhattan
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes
Directed by Wayne Wang
Released by Columbia Pictures
Rated PG-13 (language, sexual references)
Time 106 minutes
Sun Score: **