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Maid In Manhattan Made To Entertain

If you've seen the previews you've probably guessed how this story will go and how it will end. But don't let that deter you from seeing this light romantic comedy that entertains thanks mainly to the acting of Jennifer Lopez and her chemistry with her on-screen son played by young Tyler Posey. Her scenes with handsome Ralph Fiennes are chastely romantic as Cinderella heads steadfastly toward "happily ever after" with a minor glitch along the way. The minor characters are all great, though none achieve the level of comedy you feel they are capable of reaching. Still, this tale of mistaken identity and a love that crosses social and economic class lines is a pleasant way to spend an hour or so escaping the freny of the malls during the holidays.

Pleasantly Surprised... Part One...

I don't like pointless chick flix. I am the King of this notion. I would rather sit alone for six hours staring at a pine tree than give an hour and a half-plus to a nightmarish meet-cute. Thankfully, in this very manly reviewers opinion, Maid in Manhattan shines a little.

Jennifer Lopez is accredited to acting in one of the grandest modern bombs of our time. The mention of the word sends chills up the spine, but here it goes: Gigli. (Which according to Ebert didn't deserve the negative attention it got. Though he thumbs-downed it.) I say that to say this, Jennifer Lopez ain't bad. I am no fan of her music, but as I have said many times - to each his own - but she's not too bad at acting. In Maid, she holds her own as a mother trying to balance time with her son and trying to hold her head up through her work situation.


There are a few scenes which on their own stand out. No major spoilers to worry about. The first is the moment where she confronts her own mother about raising her to believe that she's just a stupid chicano that can't achieve goals higher than cleaning. I also liked the supportive comradery between all the Maids. Also, Mr Fiennes shows his acting abilities beyond the sadistic jew killer in Schindlers list. Yes, he has proven it many times, but after the latest Harry Potter, he reaffirmed his strength in personifying evil.


I am giving this movie a good review for those of you who have a guy whom you would rather not torture, and can appreciate a good chic flick. Or, you have a girlfriend that is tired of watching Kill Bill and Lord of the Rings all of the time. Maid in Manhattan is a cheat-sheet for anyone.

A horrible movie

This is a horrible movie. Jennifer Lopez has always produced great comedies, like The Wedding Planner, but this one was a huge flop. When I first saw it, I didn't get the impression that the cast felt their characters. Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes don't play their roles convincingly enough. This is a horrible movie and I strongly discourage you see it.

You've Got It Maid!

THis was a nice little film. Never taxing on the brain but I was happy to see some truew character development that seems to be lacking in many romantic comedies that my wife drags me to. Jennifer Lopez does a fine job of shedding her public persona and helping us to believe that she is STILL from the block. She looks stunning in this film. Yes my wife and I predicted the entire plot in the car on the parking lot before we went in but we knew what we were in store for. It was a cute, fun little movie. I would reccommend it.

Light-hearted fun!

This is the third best film of the year!The most important aspect of the film is when "Marisa" stands up to the snooty sales assistant: those of us who are not treated with respect in our everyday lives, know from watching the film that we have the right to be treated with respect!"Chris" represents an archetype, although I don't know if I could find a man like him in real life!The film consists of some appealing songs!The maids were certainly entertaining in parts: "Stephanie" is one of those characters, I find a bit blunt!"Rachel" was too snooty: fortunately, "Caroline" treated "Marisa" with more respect!The downside of the film was that "Caroline" was snubbed by "Chris": I know the feeling of being rejected by anyone I really like!

so boring it just drags on and on and on.

it was awful the 15 minutes were ok then it just dropped. i was bored out of my mind with this turned it off. jlo was great in wedding planner and that was a great romatic comedy. what happend with this. and y was ralph fines cast. he has no romantic comedy in him. sorry doesnt have the look or acting musle for this kind of movie.

Not Worth the Money

...Okay, I'll bet you any money that you can guess this movie's synopsis. Jennifer Lopez stars as Marissa, a single mother who works as a maid in a ritzy Manhattan hotel. The day before Marissa decides to run for the position of manager, a rich woman decides to stay at the hotel, and Marissa becomes her kind-of servant. One day while Marissa is cleaning her room, her friend comes over and pursuedes Marissa to try on the woman's outfit hanging in the closet. She agrees, and tries it on. She does look good, I'll admit, but not as far to be mistaken as a guest-which is exactly what happens when the mayor of NY walks in. Now, how he got the key, we don't know. That is all I will give away, seeing as some people actually want to see this rock of a movie.

My personal opinion is that this movie is a flop. It certainly was a flop at the box office, and didn't get that good of reviews from the critics... Take my advice, skip this one and rent a REAL romantic comedy like "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Two Weeks Notice".

Dear Ralph, Natasha, and Bob - WHY?????

I can understand Jennifer Lopez being in this stupid piece of fluff that has no point, but why, oh WHY were the other actors in it? Three great British actors: Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Bob Hoskins - I know they can do better than this! J-Lo was good in the Wedding Planner, but watching this movie made me realize what a lousy actress she really is. The story is one that's been told a hundred thousand times - and has been done a hundred thousand times better. There was nothing new here, no new ideas, not even a good laugh. They call it a romantic comedy, but it's not. It's J-Lo pouting for two hours. Ralph and Natasha try to throw in some comedic elements, but they're stuck with really unfunny lines (Natasha's "I've been dumped" speech for one). Bob Hoskins has the one good speech in the entire film, but even he can't save it. Why was he in it? Why? I don't think we'll ever know.

forgettable...

I've been a projectionist for 35 years (so far) & average about 2 features & a few documentaries each week. I've seen a lot of films. In my humble opinion, I found this film to be totally forgettable...except for Fiennes & Hoskins. J-lo is over-rated, over paid & much too much, OVER HYPED.

Standard Romantic Comedy

I just saw this film on DVD. It strikes me as pointless to criticise it for being what it is, a romantic comedy. (And what's to criticise? According to imdb, it cost 55 million and grossed in US cinemas alone 90 million.)Within the romantic comedy genre, I thought it works reasonably well and only a few times I wondered whether I'd wandered into a Harlequin romance novel.Romantic comedies must always be remade if only to update the costumes and slang. Two 'new' angles though: First, the female lead looking for a career and promotion as in Working Girl (same scriptwriter). Older romantic comedies didn't have this twist. Second, what is it with the press conference/crowd scene at the end? One Fine Day and Notting Hill offered such. Is this an attempt to involve the audience?

Could the script have been more hacked?

This wasn't a movie. It was a poorly stitched together rag of storylines that we've seen time and time again. Pretty Woman, anyone? The lines were trite to the point that I wanted to gag. The plot holes were big enough you could fall in and break your neck. What was the deal with the mother (or the "abuela," since the writers felt the incessant need to remind us that J-Lo is Hispanic)? I think a little therapy is what they need, not a 2-hour movie. Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Lopez had so little chemistry I could have been watching two mice mate. The one saving grace of this film was the son, Ty, who had the best lines in the movie. All in all, save your money and wait for "Maid in Manhattan" to hit primetime. 2/10.

average chick flick

well all ive got to say about this movie is its another chick flick. guy sees women. women sees guy, they meet in some awkward situation, they fall in love eventually, the end. the movie doesnt really have anything special about it (except that it has jlo in it of course...... lol) but i honestly wouldnt even rent it unless u rent movies a lot. but if u got like comcast digital cable look for it on there.

Really Ordinary

A real retread. Take out Jennifer Lopez, plug in Julia Roberts, Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds or whoever the movie "sitcom" queen of the moment is or was. It was well produced (slick), well acted on auto-pilot, and ultra predictable. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. Aimed at the dumbed down masses.

YAY for the love story.

I love cinderella stories. And, I especially enjoyed this one! I knew the ending, but, that's what makes it so good. Just think if it weren't a happy ending, there would be some major chaos! And Ralph Fiennes was an absolutely charming prince....eh hem...i mean political candidate!

Well, It's worth renting it.

Well, a lot of reveiws I've seen writen about this dvd here are saying how horrible jlo is and how they hate her singing and that they'd never see this movie in a million yrs. If so, plz don't write a reveiw about it!!! I personally despize jlo
s music, but I think that this moive was pretty good.

This was decent movie. It was very similar to the theme of the moive "Ever After" (with Drew Barrymore) witch was set in midevil times, and is also much like a cinderella story. You see, in "Ever After", a girl's father dies, and is servent to her dreadful step mother and step sisters. When she must save her fellow sevent from being sold to the palace, she dresses up like a lady and the price sees her. Thinking that she too is noble, he falls in love with her. She continues dressing up so, convincing herself that she will tell him eventually, and when she tell him he is extremly destressed. He's mad that she desived him, and also mad that a servent could win his heart. However, he soon realizes that it doesn't matter if she is noble or not, because he loves her. After this he forgives her and they live happily "ever after". I like this story much better, becuase it is much more compeling and thought provoking than Maid in Manhattan, yet they are much the same.

Bottom line? Rent Maid in Manhattan, it's worth it, and the kid who plays her son in the movie is great. Also, rent "ever after" It's one I own, and watch all the time.

Not Romantic

One of the key ingredients for any romantic comedy is some kind of electricity between the stars. Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes not only have no sparks, they are in movie that relies so heavily on formula that the formula seems more than ordinarily forced. For example, Jennifer Lopez's character has to go to a "ball" so she can seem like Cinderella, only she doesn't stay very long and nothing notable happens. Then, her "Prince Charming" chases after her and they wind up in bed. All the time Jennifer Lopez's character is being deceitful as to her true identity ... also a forced plot device. This movie attempts to create a modern take on an old classic ... that is, if the movie is actually attempting anything other than getting box office sales. There is no story. There is no romance. There is no magic. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to see this movie more than once; it is not worth having in your video or DVD library.

Great Movie!

I have to say, I came to this movie with mixed feelings-I was sure it would either be a predictable little ditty with a forseeable ending or a charming, great-feeling film that would be worth my time and money. It was the latter. While I don't exactly care for Jennifer in her singing ability (or her fake singing ability), she is still excellent and charming as Marisa, or should we call her Maria? She is just so lovable you are rooting for her to have happiness the whole time. You are really able to put yourself in her shoes. Ralph Fiennes is excellent as well as a womanizing politician (forget his name-wasn't too interested in it) who falls head over heels for Marisa. The boy who plays her son is also excellent, and he plays the role believably, he won't strike you as the son of some rich person involved with the film who was able to get him shoved in, the kid is talented. Also excellent are Natasha Richardson as the annoying but hilarious Caroline and her companion played by the fantastic Amy Sidaris who is even more annoying and even more hilarious. She really hates Marisa just because of her nationality: "Why are you asking her, she can't even speak English!". The maids who work in the hotel and are friends of Marisa are excellent as well. Everything in this movie works out just perfectly. You will be very glad you went to see it.

Maid is not a must - see.

This is a weak film, but it is pretty to watch. Jennifer Lopez does an acceptable job as the hotel maid in this somewhat insipid story. I cannot recommend it as a must-see film, but I can tell that the audiences are flocking to see their idol, J-Lo.

For once J-Lo doesn't come off as a diva.... at least in the beginning.

The first time I saw this movie, I bought it on pay-per-view. I had an all day ticket and not once during the day could I actually sit down and watch this thing from start to finish. No, I'm not some ADD child that can't sit still. This movie was just so damn boring it just wasn't worth wasting 2 hours of my life watching it. Now it's been on Starz for a very long time and FINALLY I promised myself I would sit down and actually watch this thing from start to finish no matter how much I wanted to run away.The absolute only thing that caught my attention was Jennifer Lopez's character. For once in her life she took on a role that makes the audience feel somewhat sympathetic for her, which is rare considering SHE always seems to consider herself as the world's biggest diva. Yes, she's made a lot of money thus far in her career, but for once she actually appears to take on a role that doesn't reinstate in everyone's mind that the only reason she's so famous is because she has a nice ass. Besides Selena, this is the only time I've seen her take on a role as a modest, minimum-wage woman whose only concern in life is the well-being of her young son. She meets a POORLY cast Ralph Fiennes, who plays Assemblyman Chris Marshall.As much as I can't stand J-Lo, I can't help but say it was only when he stepped into the movie I truly had to force myself from changing the channel.As for J-Lo's son, played by Tyler Posey, he's almost believable as a normal child until he starts talking about politics. I'm sorry but any 10 year-old that is able to carry on a conversation with an assemblyman and comes off as smarter than him is most definitely NOT BELIEVABLE!!!Overall, I really wish I had just stuck with my gut and just left it at the pay-per-view I never wanted to watch. I miss the two hours I gave up watching this. 4 out of 10.

Well, I liked it!

So many people have already written reviews of this movie, which has been out for five years now, that I am not going to go into detail about the plot, or the acting, or whether the storyline is predictable, or how cute Ty Posey was. I am merely going to say that I watched it tonight for the first time with my 13-year old daughter and we both enjoyed it immensely. I found Jennifer Lopez a bit stiff in places, but overall she handled the role well. I do not understand why so many people had problems with Ralph Finnes in this movie, I found him not only believable but incredibly sexy, and I hope he gets the opportunity to do more romantic comedies! Bob Hoskins stole every scene he was in. Stanley Tucci chewed scenery. Natasha Richardson was suitably selfish and blonde. New York was lovely. The dog overacted shamelessly. The movie was not perfect, but it was delightful. The only wrong note was the series of magazine covers at the end, showing what happened to the characters; it was much too "cute" and rather unbelievable (all three of her maid friends become hotel managers?) And I was rather disappointed that - for all the film's brave talk of crossing social barriers - the movie ends with nothing more than a magazine cover with the headline "A year later, they are still together". I felt cheated.