Maid in Manhattan (2002)

"Maid in Manhattan has charm on its side.  Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"The best romantic comedy since Pretty Woman!  Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
"A lovably old-school Hollywood confection.  Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"Two thumbs up!  Ebert and Roeper

Editor's Note Director Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB, SMOKE) updates the familiar Cinderella story in this charming romantic comedy. Jennifer Lopez stars as Marissa Ventura, a beautiful young woman who divides her time between her precocious son Ty (Tyler Posey) and her housekeeping duties at The Beresford, an upscale Manhattan hotel. When the boyish and affluent politician Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) shares an amusing elevator ride with Ty, he subsequently meets Marissa. As luck would have it, Marissa is mischievously sporting an exotic Dolce & Gabbana gown belonging to another Beresford tenant, and is mistaken by Christopher as a guest of the hotel. The two undeniably hit it off, but Marissa is unable to reveal her working-class secret, afraid of losing her job. Christopher is completely smitten and makes numerous attempts to locate her, despite the comedic fact she is often right under his nose. While the film is always lighthearted and fun, it does not shy away from foregrounding race and class issues, devoting much screen time to Marissa's coworkers and their struggles to survive. As a rags-to-riches fairy tale, MAID IN MANHATTAN hits all the right notes.

	Chris Eigeman
	Frances Conroy
	Jennifer Lopez
	Natasha Richardson
	Ralph Fiennes
	Stanley Tucci
	Tyler Posey
	Karl Walter Lindenlaub - Cinematographer
	Wayne Wang - Director
	Craig McKay - Editor
	Alan Silvestri - Original Music
	Deborah Schindler - Producer
	Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas - Producer
	Paul Schiff - Producer
	Jane Musky - Production Designer
	Kevin Wade - Screenplay

New York Times
"...You would have to go back to Claudette Colbert or the young Lauren Bacall to find an actress capable of projecting so much erotic self-confidence in a single gaze..." 12/13/2002 p.E1

Variety
"...Jennifer Lopez revels in the star role....Fiennes hasn't looked so relaxed onscreen since moments in THE ENGLISH PATIENT..." 12/02/2002 p.40-1

Box Office
"...Lopez shines....The heroine is written as a classic underdog...Lopez invests her with the extra dose of dignity and quiet determination that gives her substance..." 03/01/2003 p.61

San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
It's a match that could be made only in Hollywood: Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. That the combination is pleasing and not just tolerable--that the sight of Fiennes putting his lizard lips on Lopez doesn't make the skin crawl but in fact seems nice--is the saving grace of Maid in Manhattan, a Cinderella story with star appeal going for it and everything else against it. - Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Examiner 8 of 10
Adjectives such as "nice" and "pleasant" may seem like left-handed compliments--or, worse, ironic putdowns--in an era when too much of what passes for film criticism has been reduced to extremes of fulsome praise or ferocious sarcasm. But those are the very words, along with "charming" and maybe even "sweet," that I would use to describe Maid in Manhattan, an undemandingly agreeable trifle that should satisfy anyone in search of an old-fashioned Cinderella story at the megaplex. - Joe Leydon

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Maid in Manhattan is a skillful, glossy, formula picture, given life by the appeal of its stars. It has a Meet Cute of stunning audacity, it has a classic Fish Out of Water, it works the Idiot Plot Syndrome overtime to avoid solving a simple misunderstanding, and there won't be a person in the audience who can't guess exactly how it will turn out. Yet it goes through its paces with such skill and charm that, yes, I enjoyed it. - Roger Ebert