Amy Sedaris, Bob Hoskins, Chris Eigeman

In the breezy Maid in Manhattan, a maid in a top-flight hotel (Jennifer Lopez, Out of Sight, The Wedding Planner) chances to dress in a guest's clothes just when a handsome poli...( read more  read more... )tical candidate (Ralph Fiennes, Schindler's List, Red Dragon) walks in. Naturally, he's bowled over and pursues her; he's initially drawn to her gorgeous good looks but soon comes to appreciate her honesty and common sense. Of course, she can't let him know that she's only a maid, and various high jinks ensue--it's all pretty formulaic, but lurking in the edges of this glossy, brainless romance are a wealth of sly turns by Natasha Richardson and Amy Sedaris (as callow socialites), Bob Hoskins (as a dignified butler), Stanley Tucci (as Fiennes' exasperated campaign manager), and many less familiar faces. All help to give Maid in Manhattan the life and texture that has been processed out of the main characters. --Bret Fetzer

Flixster Users

53% liked it

443,158 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

135 critics

PG-13, 105 min.

Directed by: Wayne Wang

Release Date: December 13, 2002

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DVD Release Date: March 25, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (15,474)


  • October 10, 2006
    It was a by-the-book movie. Enjoyable but predictable.
  • September 24, 2009
    I saw it on an Aeroplane, otherwise I would have left!
  • August 8, 2009
    Was Jennifer Lopez going through an "I want to be Julia Roberts" phase in 2002? That was the year in which she made "Enough", a shameless rip-off of "Sleeping with the Enemy" and followed it up with "Maid in Manhattan", which bears a certain resemblance to another Roberts film, "...( read more)Pretty Woman".

    Like "Pretty Woman", this is a romantic comedy based upon a "poor girl loves rich man" storyline. The poor girl is Marisa Ventura, a divorcée with a ten-year-old son working as a maid in a smart Manhattan hotel. The rich man is Christopher Marshall, scion of a wealthy family and senatorial candidate staying as a guest in the hotel. Chris is, unexpectedly, a Republican, a detail presumably inserted in a bid to dispel those persistent rumours that Hollywood's main function is to act as the Democratic Party's amen corner. The two meet and are attracted to one another, but, owing to a misunderstanding, Chris believes that Marisa is Caroline Lane, a wealthy British socialite who is another guest at the hotel. Chris invites "Caroline Lane" to lunch, but he is confused when the real Caroline shows up instead of Marisa. Further complications ensue, including the real Caroline taking a fancy to Chris and Marisa losing her job, but this being a rom-com we know that true love will prevail in the end.

    Jennifer Lopez has some dreadful films on her CV, especially the badly-written, badly-acted and thoroughly nasty "Enough", and the hilariously bad "Anaconda", a sort of fifties monster movie resurrected for the nineties. (I must admit I have never seen "Gigli", widely quoted as being the nadir of her career; if it is worse than either of those films it must be bad indeed). "Maid in Manhattan", however, is one of her better performances, not least because she enunciates all her lines clearly, something which is not always the case with her, and makes Marisa- hard-working, determined and caring- a very likable heroine.

    Rather surprisingly, Ralph Fiennes, who is often at his best playing villainous characters as in "Schindler's List" or "The Duchess", makes an equally likable hero. The rather reserved Chris seems more like an English gentleman than an American politician; there is perhaps a hint that his desire for a seat in the Senate owes more to family tradition than to ideological commitment; both his father and grandfather were Senators before him. The real political animal is his frantically hyperactive spin doctor Jerry (played by Stanley Tucci, who had played a rather similar role the previous year in "America's Sweethearts"). There is an amusing, if somewhat one-dimensional, contribution from Natasha Richardson as the spoilt, bitchy Caroline. The acting honours were stolen, however, by young Tyler Posey, utterly delightful as Marisa's son Ty who plays a key role in bringing his mother and Chris together. Ty is a budding intellectual who has become something of an expert on the 1970s, especially the presidency of Richard Nixon.

    I don't think that "Maid in Manhattan" is as good as "Pretty Woman", which had rather more in the way of character development and psychological depth. Garry Marshall's film gained a bit of extra edge by making its heroine a prostitute and its hero a businessman suffering a crisis of conscience about his less-than-ethical business methods. Marisa and Chris, by comparison, are just a bit too nice right from the beginning. Yet the film, as a whole, is an enjoyable one, if not a particularly original one. Besides "Pretty Woman" it also owes a debt to the Audrey Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart "Sabrina" and to countless other films, plays, novels and stories all the way back to "Cinderella" and beyond. Yet this lack of originality does not necessarily matter in a romantic comedy; the genre, after all, is a highly formulaic one which relies upon a few well-worn plots. What matters is the way in which the basic idea is developed, and "Maid in Manhattan" handles its theme with wit and humour. It's not exactly a realistic film either, but then rom-coms were never intended to be exercises in realism. It will provide enjoyable viewing for anyone looking for something romantic and escapist.
  • July 6, 2009
    just shows the versitility of my love Ralph Fiennes!! Not that great of a movie tho...predictable...I havent seen it for a long time tho...I should watch it soon. :I
  • December 9, 2008
    A rags to riches romance, that was not unlike the Hugh Grant/Martine McCucheon storyline in ?Love Actually?.

    Sweet and watchable, but one to watch when it appears on tv, not worth renting or buying.
  • November 19, 2009
    BORING, BUT IT WAS STILL OKAY TO WATCH
  • November 16, 2009
    I thought they did a pretty good job. I liked it.
  • November 16, 2009
    never lose hope!!!!!!
  • November 15, 2009
    Another story in the Cinderella style. It's entertaining, but could have been better.
  • November 13, 2009
    A very common story!

Critic Reviews


December 13, 2002
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

A lovably old-school Hollywood confection. full review

December 13, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The movie would almost qualify as pleasant, were it not for a certain condescension in its treatment of working-class life and its offhand assumption that lives not buoyed by riches or aggrandized by ... full review

December 13, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A skillful, glossy, formula picture, given life by the appeal of its stars. full review

December 13, 2002
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

A Cinderella story so formulaic you'll be looking for a glass slipper. full review

December 13, 2002
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Jennifer Lopez has star power, genuine talent and considerable assets, but she's wasted yet again in a grossly predictable romantic comedy. full review

December 13, 2002
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

In general the picture is so committed to inoffensiveness and to hammering home its uplifting, bootstrap message that it lacks the necessary element of malice. full review

View more Maid in Manhattan reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • heartdance28
    June 29, 2007
    truely one of a kind movie, that proves with love all is equal weather ur rich/not, president. governor or wat, as long as u find true love, love can conquer and forgot evrything jus to follow heart choice..
  • eastsida49ers
    November 19, 2006
    oh it a beautyful move ...i like this kind of moves becos it is a story ab't man an woman(you an me)hahahahahahah sooooooooori.....

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Maid in Manhattan Trivia


  • In which movie did Jennifer Lopez use a guest's fur coat without the guest's permission?  Answer »
  • Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson all star in which 2002 film?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Jennifer Lopez star as a maid with a mistaken identity?  Answer »
  • In Maid in Manhattan: What was Jennifer Lopez's sons real name?  Answer »

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