Maid in Manhattan [PG]

Marissa Ventura is a maid, and a good one at that; she’s polite, diligent, loyal, and above all, very good at being invisible. But her world is turned upside down when Chris Marshall, a candidate for Senator, comes to stay at the hotel where she works. Whilst trying on a guest’s clothes, Marissa and Chris’s paths cross and they fall for one another. But the romance is threatened as the two come from completely different worlds and, as such, have different behaviours expected of them. 

Oh, this is a very nice film. It’s warm, has drama, inspires both romance and equality, and is filled with memorable characters and messages about acceptance and societal judgement. Although it’s your average, mediocre, light, fluffy, bit of romantic brain candy, it’s still a film that I have a soft spot for and am glad to have in my collection. 

Marissa Ventura is a maid, and a very good one at that; she’s polite, diligent, loyal, and above all, very good at being invisible. But her world is turned upside down when Chris Marshall, a rich candidate running for Senator, comes to stay at the hotel where she works. Whilst trying on a guest’s clothes, Marissa and Chris’ paths cross and they fall in love with one another. But the romance is threatened as the two come from completely different words and, as such, have different behaviours expected of them. 

Little, feely, romantic comedies such as these are really nice because they are light, with simple plots to follow, memorable characters, and balanced between drama and comedy. 

Maid in Manhattan is a particularly nice little movie that depicts a lot of the stereotypes, both societal and racial, that can still be seen today. On the surface, it’s a classic romance story, but underneath we see all these other themes that are political, societal, racial, and familial. When you really look at it, there is more going on in this movie than initially meets the eye, making it a nice one to come to now and gain because each time you see it, you see something that you may not have noticed before. 

Jennifer Lopez stars as Marissa and she did very well. I’m not really a fan of Jennifer’s, but watching her in this film was great because she gave a performance that was warm, funny, biting, and really genuine. She was an everywoman, a character that sometimes proves to be the harder one to play. 

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Tyler Garcia Posey, Marissa Matrone, Stanley Tucci, and Bob Hoskins, Maid in Manhattan is a lovely little film that’s filled with romance, comedy, drama, stereotypes, memorable characters, and heart. It may not be the most romantic tale to grace our screens, but it’s nice and light with warmth and heart. It’s very lovely.