‘MAID IN MANHATTAN’: A WORKING CLASS CINDERELLA FROM NEW YORK

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Much as I like them set in their original habitat, contemporary fairytales are something I do enjoy. It’s fun to be swept up in a fairytale world that while not realistic, is nonetheless pretty to experience. I don’t watch this Jennifer Lopez film much, but when I finally do, it’s always cute.

Maid in Manhattan (2002) Film Review

Single mother Marisa Ventura (Lopez) has more than one challenge facing her. Her crummy job as a hotel maid isn’t what she thought she’d be doing, but to ensure her son has the best opportunities she does the best she can. Everything changes when a case of mistaken identity trips up her otherwise simple life. When she is caught in a game of make believe, someone walks in seeing her as someone she isn’t.

That person turns out to be, the politically ambitious Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes). As the two serendipitously begin spending time together, Chris becomes more and more enchanted by Marisa, and her unabashed way of telling him off. Is this budding romance destined to last or will it fade when their lies confront them?

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Why I waited so long to see this film I’ll never be able to answer. It delights from the meet-cute through the mad dash to a HEA. Although I’ve seen her in many films now, each time I see Jennifer Lopez in a film, her acting skills surprise. Though true that a romantic-comedy role might not require the range some roles do, everything she tackles, she does well. Maid in Manhattan is no different. She takes an ordinary role and makes it “real” for the audience, which I appreciate.

Aside from the cast, this script is catnip for fairytale lovers. It’s a kind of modern Cinderella story (although I don’t know that it bills itself as such) that’s infectious. Despite this (and you can definitely pluck all the familiarities from this as such), this is its own story. The fast-paced NY setting, political angle and focus on family and its importance are all vital plot points there to serve specific purposes.

Those of you who are romantic-comedy lovers such as myself simply must see this. It’s bright and shines brilliantly within its safety net (or genre). The strength for many will be that its heroine doesn’t need a knight to ride up on a white horse to save her (she does this all on her own, on her own terms). I simply like it for its lighthearted romance which allows me to turn off serious thought for a night as I get swept into the fairytale world.

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🗽🏩‘MAID IN MANHATTAN’: A WORKING CLASS CINDERELLA FROM NEW YORK🏩🗽 JENNIFER LOPEZ STARS IN THIS 2002 FILM. TEXT © RISSI JC

Content: A couple does spend the night together (we see them in the hotel room, kissing before the camera cuts away). There is some minor innuendo and commonplace instances of profanity crop up now and again. The film is PG13.  

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

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