Now wheres that glass slipper?. Review on Maid In Manhattan Movie

As a typical Cinderella story goes, Maid in Manhattan brings to the audience the bottom line (no pun intended) that dreams can come true. The poster was enough to entice a viewing.

Jennifer Lopez is Marisa Ventura.

Divorced with a ten year old boy, Marisa is soon to move up the proverbial career ladder; from chambermaid to assistant manager. She envisions a better life for herself and her son. But all her dreams and ambitions are challenged when she accidentally encounters Chris Marshall and soon finds herself falling in love with him. What ensues is a Cinderella fairy tale romance with designer clothes and diamond jewelry and a night of virtual reality. It all ends at the break of dawn. When her deception is discovered, Marisas world crumbles all around her and she is unemployed without the man of her dreams

The versatile and multi-faceted J.Lo has once again graced the viewers with her commendable performance and her “rapper” deliverance of dialogue. With pedantic love scenes, J.Lo was bound south in this movie.

Ralph Fiennes is Christopher Marshall.

Prime candidate for the New York senate, Chris is a down-to-earth kinda fella with a huge dog names Rufus who gets the better half of his attention. Campaigning from a top NY hotel, he comes across Ms. Ventura in a stunning $5000 Dolce outfit. Taken in by her latino charms, Chris finds himself bewitched by this woman with opinions. After an enchanting night out with the enigmatic woman, he is confronted with her humble truth. The truth is devastating to the usually poised senatorial candidate.

The charismatic Ralph makes for a wonderful candidate for the senate but a poor one for Ms. Lopez. He lacks the passion to match the movie and its theme. Though he has a twinkle in his eye when it falls upon Ms. Lopez, it can be mistaken for a puerile tendency towards mischief more than an adult inclination towards romance.

Tyler Posey is Ty Ventura.

As the ten year old son of a single mother and a father who has no time, Ty is well-adjusted to his situation loves his mother enough to do some stupid things for her. When an opportunity is presented to him to deviate from the hoi-polloi to high society, he does so with ease. He is instrumental in the match-making process of his mother and the future senator of the Big Apple.

As with any Cinderella story, there has to be a fairy godmother. In this movie, Ms. Ventura has more than one. Infact, one can say the entire hotel staff were her fairy godmothers! I mention them because, without them there would be no Cinderella story. From coaxing her to apply for a vacant management position to inveigling her to be a princess for one night, her friends gently prod her to heights she only dreamt of. There are many implausible scenes where Ms. Ventura gets away with barely a scratch to her Latino veneer. If a maid in any hotel were caught in a guests clothes, they would be severely dealt with. This and many other scenes will make you wonder if this is movie is for real.

What remains to be seen is will Ms. Venturas transgression be forgiven? And will this unlikely couple be reunited? Will there be a “…and they lived happily ever after”?

Maid in Manhattan was meant to be a romantic comedy. What resulted were some clichéd lines and dead pan romance. Ms. Lopez’ performance cannot be faulted, though I believe Mr. Fiennes could have done with some lessons from the masters of romance i.e Richard Gere, Josh Lucas, et al. The story basis was good. Chambermaid falls in love with rich guy. It’s a case of mistaken identity, sort of like being caught in the wrong shoes at the right time.

The movie is interspersed with some soulful music from Norah Jones and some foot-tapping music from other artistes. All these intermingled into the movie to make it an altogether pleasant 1 hour and 45 minutes. Besides all this, we are given a sneak peek into the workings of a posh hotel. The personal touch that goes into the arranging of a room and the hectic hustle and bustle behind the calm façade of the hotel employees.

I would give this movie a miss in the cinema halls and spend some quality time getting better acquainted with your living room and a DVD.