“Maid in Manhattan” is a formula picture to the fullest. Little happens during its run-time you don’t expect or don’t see coming a mile away. But it’s sweet in its presentation, has likable leads, and gets under your skin by the end. However, despite its formulaic approach, the film’s biggest affront is not a lack of character development, but rather that it starts strong and then drops this ball about a quarter of the way through the movie. You’ll probably get to the end of the film and be pleased you watched it. But it could have been stronger, and that’s hard to overlook.
At the beginning of “Maid,” we see its protagonist, Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) getting her young son Ty (Tyler Posey) ready for school. She lives in the lower-income part of Manhattan, works at a luxurious hotel, and does her best to make ends meet and be there for her son at the same time. She asks him how his speech that he needs to deliver at school is going, he responds he’s scared. She asks what he’s listening to on his headphones, removing them for a heart to heart. “Simon and Garfunkel,” he replies. Ty’s an old soul.
Regretfully, this is all the backstory we get to see into their lives, the plot steam rolls ahead to a meet cute Marisa has with a wealthy senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) as she is trying on a wealthy guest’s clothes in the penthouse suite. They go for a walk (which is filled, skillfully, with a great deal of chemistry between the two), and before long Chris wants a second date. However, plot dictates that Marisa shy away from this idea, her job and relationship with her co-workers and friends seemingly on the line.
The strengths of this movie lie in its casting and its charm. Firstly, Lopez is extremely likable in the role of Marisa, adding spunk and sincerity to a character that could have been cookie cutter. She’s believable as a working class woman that wants a better life for herself and her son without ever once coming off bitter or resentful of her life station. And Posey, as her son, is just a joy to watch. His interactions with his mother, and especially Chris Marshall, are humorous and wise beyond his years. One scene as he trades political barbs with Marshall in an elevator, and another as Marshall directs him in the art of not getting nervous during speeches are the stuff that great comedies are made of.
It was also refreshing to see the everyman persona that Fiennes brings to the role of Marshall. Honestly, this is what audiences are expecting from movies like this. And, while this film is not as charming and endearing as Garry Marshall’s “Pretty Woman,” Fiennes takes steps to appear lower key and less energetic than Gere’s character from that movie. It’s Marisa he wants to get to know; but he does this through persistence and authenticity, by asking Marisa questions about herself rather than through trying to “show her the good life.” Of course, the whole reason this works is the film’s recurring (and at times painful) plot device: Marshall doesn’t know that Marisa is a maid until its inevitable reveal.
I like the way that New York was presented in this film. From the opening we’re introduced to a street side NYC, the daily opening of small stores and fruit stands replacing ground up shots of the Empire State Building or the Brooklyn Bridge.
However it’s here that my biggest complaint of “Maid in Manhattan” presents itself – the film’s seemingly desperate need to over-explain Marisa’s situation to us, though the opening scene, as well as interactions she has with her co-workers, more than adequately paints this picture without it needing to be forced down our throats. During a speech Marisa’s mother gives her about knowing better than to get involved with someone on the other side of the fence it becomes tiresome and a bit insulting. The audience is smart enough to know the societal ties that Marisa feels may keep her and Chris apart without one character after another reminding us she’s “not good enough.” More successful romantic comedies focus on its leads’ relationship and chemistry over societal status. But “Maid in Manhattan” just can’t resist the temptation.
All in all, the film is charming, and you’re sure to walk away feeling better than before you started watching it. You like these two and want their relationship to work. However, a little more time developing their relationship, as well as a lot less over-explaining would have gone a long way.
– by Mark Ziobro
