... We picked up a guide and plumped for Maid In Manhattan. I really wasn't too impressed with this decision but to avoid any further arguments I decided to keep shtum!
I'd seen the trailers on the TV for it and the first thing I ever thought when I saw one the first time was something along ... Read review
In the breezyMaid in Manhattan, a maid in a top-flight hotel (Jennifer Lopez) chances to ... more
dress in a guest's clothes just when a handsome political candidate (Ralph Fiennes) walks in. Naturally, he's bowled over and pursues her; he's initially drawn to ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In the breezyMaid in Manhattan, a maid in a top-flight hotel (Jennifer Lopez) chances to ... more
dress in a guest's clothes just when a handsome political candidate (Ralph Fiennes) walks in. Naturally, he's bowled over and pursues her; he's initially drawn to ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez - The Wedding Planner, Enough) is a struggling single ... more
mother who works at a posh Manhattan hotel and dreams of a better life for her and her young son (Tyler Posey). One fateful day, hotel guest and senatorial candidate C...
Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a Struggling single mother Who Works At A Posh ... more
Manhattan Hotel And DreamsOf A Better Life For Her And Her Son (Tyler Posey). One Fateful Day, Hotel Guest And Senatorial CandidateChristopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) Meets Marisa And Mistakes Her For A Wealthy Socialite. After An Enchanting Evening Together, The Two Fall Madly In Love. But When Marisa's True Identity Is Revealed, Issues Of ClassAnd Social Status Threaten To Separate Them. Can Two People From Very Different Worlds Overcome Their Differences And Live Happily Ever After?.For Acclaimed Director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) And Co-Starring Natasha Richardson (The Parent Trap), Stanley Tucci (Road To Perdition) And Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa).
I'm Coming Out (Amerie) Train On A Track (Kelly Rowland) Yes We Can Can (Pointer Sisters) ... more
Lovergirl (Teena Marie) Miracles (Res) Fall Again (Glenn Lewis) Come Away With Me (Norah Jones) If You're Not The One (Daniel Bedingfield) Kathy's Song (Eva Cassidy) Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard (Paul Simon) The Guitar Man (Bread) I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross) Main In Manhattan (Alan Silvestri) At Last (Alan Silvestri)
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Shelagh Fraser, Barbara Flynn, Keith Drinkel, Felicity Kendal, Pam Ferris, Colin Douglas
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Pat O'Connor - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over, 15 years and over - Starring: Geraldine O'Rawe, Colin Firth, Saffron Burrows, Minnie Driver, Chris O'Donnell
Advantages: Ok for those into this genre. Disadvantages: Predictable, pretty boring, did I mention predictable?
...a guide and plumped for Maid In Manhattan. I really wasn't too impressed with this decision but to avoid any further arguments I decided to keep shtum!
I'd seen the trailers on the TV for it and the first thing I ever thought when I saw one the first time was something along the lines of "well, that looks boring".
Did this film live up to my limited expectations?
Yep!
You see ... ...films name doesn't it!). The maid is played by Jennifer Lopez. This isn't a good start in my books - you see I think people should stick to what they're good at. In her case this should be singing (although I can't say I like her singing either but there we go!)
I must say though, she can act quite well. She turned out to be a better actress than I was expecting so fair-do's to her.
Her character is called Marisa Ventura (no, ... more
One of the most annoying things you can do in life is turn up to the cinema and realise you've missed the film you wanted to see. You then face at least a 2 hour wait until the next showing or you have to see your second choice.
Normally the first option would be ok because most cinemas tend to be located in a town or city. However, not in North Wales! You see my local cinema, at Llandudno Junction is located out of town. Not only is it out of town, Llandudno Junction isn't exactly a great location to spend 2 hours as a minimum trying to find something to do!
Two weeks ago my friends and I ventured into Llandudno Junction to see "The Ring". According to the Cineworld website the film was being shown at 11:30am. So, we were there in plenty of time (11:00am - see, we were prepared to spend 30 mins waiting just to make sure we saw the film!) There was a slight problem though. The website was incorrect. The film wasn't being shown until 2:00pm. Ok, great. We faced a 3 hour wait with just a McDonalds, KFC and a Tesco's to amuse ourselves with. None of us needed to do the weekly shop so Tesco's was out of the question. One of my friends is (and has been for 2 years now!) on a healthy diet so McDonalds and KFC were out of the picture (lol, no pun intended). So, what were three girls to do!?
Not one of us had any idea what other film we'd like to see. We've all got very different tastes when it comes to films too so picking one we'd all be at least reasonably happy watching was going to be tricky. We picked up a guide and plumped for Maid In Manhattan. I really wasn't too impressed with this decision but to avoid any further arguments I decided to keep shtum!
I'd seen the trailers on the TV for it and the first thing I ever thought when I saw one the first time was something along the lines of "well, that looks boring".
Did this film live up to my limited expectations?
Yep!
You see Maid In Manhattan is about a maid in Manhattan (gee, it makes you wonder who thought of the films name doesn't it!). The maid is played by Jennifer Lopez. This isn't a good start in my books - you see I think people should stick to what they're good at. In her case this should be singing (although I can't say I like her singing either but there we go!) I must say though, she can act quite well. She turned out to be a better actress than I was expecting so fair-do's to her.
Her character is called Marisa Ventura (no, she isn't a pet detective on the weekends!). She's a single mother of a 10 year old boy called Ty and works at a top hotel called the Beresford Hotel.
*Slight spoiler until you see the pig ....*
Ty is interested in politics in a big way. This one morning when Marisa takes Ty to work with her she asks a co-worked to keep an eye on him.
Marisa, for reasons I don't need to bother going into, finds herself trying on some posh designer clothes she finds in a guests bedroom.
It's about this point that Ty conveniently bumps into Christopher Marshall (an aspiring U.S. Senator). Ty goes to ask his mum whether he and Chris can go for a walk in the park with Chris's dog, Rufus. Chris assumes Marisa is a guest in the hotel and asks her to join them on their walk. She ends up going to the park with them (and avoiding paparazzi on the way, after all, if she ends up on the front page of the newspaper someone from work would be bound to notice!)
One thing leads to another....
All I need to say now is, think of a typical romantic comedy and you'll pretty much have the whole gist of the film. Happy endings all round. Surprise, surprise.
:@ (ok, that was the pig by the way!)
All in all, the film, to me, seemed to be a bit drab and highly predictable. I'm not really a romantic comedy fan myself (Bridget Jones Diary being the exception because its more comedy than anything else!) I prefer horrors so watching a highly predictable film with a music star as the main character isn't my idea of a great movie.
My main gripe with it is that its just too predictable. Of course most of these types of films are but for some reason or another I found this even more predictable than others in the same genre.
It seemed to start quite slowly too. It must have been a good 30 minutes before anything actually happened. Prior to this we were just introduced to Marisa and Ty more than anything else. It started getting very boring before anything had actually started happening.
When things had started happening it just got more and more predictable!
All-in-all though I'd say it went uphill rather than downhill after Marisa had met Chris for the first time. Despite the fact that the predictability went up and up as the film went on.
Acting was good, not great. Considering J-Lo's 'forte' is within the music industry though I must say (reluctantly!), she can act.
When the film comes out on video and DVD on March 25th I won't be buying or renting a copy. There really is no need to see the film more than once. You won't miss anything the first time around, believe me!
If it was shown on TV in another few years I might watch it again if nothing else was on. I won't be watching it again any time soon though.
Would I recommend it? Possibly. If you're well into your romantic comedies then yes, I guess you'd like this. If you don't mind predictablity then fine, give it a go. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay to see this.
= = = Boring Bits = = =
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci, Tyler Garcia Posey, Bob Hoskins, Frances Conroy
Director: Wayne Wang
Running time: 105 minutes
For more info: http://movies.go.com/movies/M/maidinmanhattan_2001/index.html
NB. I've recommended it but only for those who are into this type of thing. Its not my cup of tea at all so its not really surprising I didn't like it!
Advantages: Enjoyable, funny,a feel good movie that's not too cheesy Disadvantages: many may dislike the 'chick flick' image it carries,not good dvd extras
Maid in Manhatten has been critisised and put down for being a 'chick flick', a 'predictable, soppy love story and for having an actress that cannot act.
True, the plotline may be a little on the predictable side and quoting Avril Lavign - 'She was a girl, he was a boy, can I make it any more obvious?', this is definitely a soppy, romantic 'chick flick'. So why is it that I watch this over and over again? *** About the film ***
Title: Maid in Manhatten
... ...Marisa Ventura works as a maid at an upper class hotel in Manhatten. She has a dream of one day becoming a manager but that is pushed aside while she struggles to pay the bills and provide for her young son named 'Ty'. Then life takes a little turn for her when a case of mistaken identity leads her to Christopher Marshall, a well known, political figure who takes an instant like to her. But how long can a romance last when it's based on a lie? Will ...
AimeeLouise18 12.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maid In Manhattan (DVD)
Advantages: Reasonable romantic comedy Disadvantages: not as good as Pretty Women
...day she works as a maid in a very posh Manhattan hotel and by night she looks after her son Ty, who she dotes upon. Struggling to make ends meet, she longs for a better life for her son especially as his father does not want anything to do with him.
When one day she is persuaded by another maid to try on some designer clothes belonging to a hotel guest, her whole life gets turned upside down. Senatorial Candidate and hotel guest, Chris Marshall ... ...performances in minor roles.
Maid in Manhattan is directed by Wayne Wang, and to be honest he has done a reasonable job, seeing that this would always be compared to the likes of Pretty Woman. Realising that this would never live up to the former, he has switched a lot of the emphasis onto the relationships between everyone, which, as mentioned earlier, moves this more into the realms of a comedy. With that in mind, he has done a great job of making ...
christianfilmcritic 24.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maid In Manhattan (DVD)
Advantages: Predictable romantic comedy Disadvantages: Too predictable and too unlikely
...across as a conscientious hotel maid with ambitions for a managerial position.
This was my first movie of Ralph Fiennes. I think he is a wonderful actor, being able to carry off the American accent but too nice to be a believable politician. I really can't believe a politician walking in Central park without a bodyguard, with a strange woman and child. So unreal!
Notable performance by Bob Hoskins as Lionel the butler. I found him so correct and ... ...Richardson as Caroline Lane, the other woman from Sotheby. She came across as a woman who need to have a man and it had better be Christopher from across the corridor.
Music
=====
I enjoyed the music very much. Especially "Come away with me" by Norah Jones and "If you are not the one" by Daniel Bedingfield.
Conclusion
==========
I thoroughly enjoyed both the acting and music. Although the story is predictable of the same genre as Cinderalla, ...
petitesquirt 09.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maid In Manhattan (DVD)
Advantages: Cute boy, Ralph Fiennes, starts to discuss interesting themes Disadvantages: predictable, bland, shallow
...I saw the trailer for Maid in Manhattan, we groaned at the cheesiness of the title and the utter unoriginality of the plot. 'Wasn't this movie already made with Julia Roberts in it?' I whispered. A couple of weeks went by and we continued to snicker at the adverts for the latest J. Lo blockbuster. But I harboured a terrible secret: I actually wanted to see the film. You see, in this complex and often depressing world in which we live, it's comforting ... ...mother who works as a maid in a swanky New York hotel. When she and her spunky co-worker Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) are cleaning the suite of a posh British woman named Caroline Sinclaire (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie convinces Marisa to try on one of Caroline's designer suits. While she is wearing the suit, Senate hopeful Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) walks in with Marisa's son Ty (Tyler Posey) in tow. Chris is smitten with Marisa at first glance ...
OKkaraoke 09.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maid In Manhattan (DVD)
Advantages: Romantic, Enderaring, light and entertaining Disadvantages: Could have used some more work
...of her other performances after Maid in Manhattan, I have to say that she was at her peak performance in this film. The movie is really romantic and fun, without any of these deep brooding intensity that are found in overly-romantic ones. I would rather call Maid in Manhattan as another dimension of Pretty Woman. I will not say that it is as romantic or was well done as Pretty Woman but it comes close to. There are quite a few serious thematic elements ... ...mother. She works as a maid in a prestigious Manhattan Hotel, and is extremely dedicated to the job that she badly needs. Marisa is well loved by her fellow colleagues and as soon as there is an internal opening for a managerial position, one of her friends sends in her application. At the same time, the hotel receives some really prestigious guests that include senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall. When a series of incidents lead to Marisa ...
diamond_sparkles 04.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maid In Manhattan (DVD)
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Advantages: Funny, Brilliant Performance From Reese, Visually A Treat Disadvantages: Formulaic, By The Numbers, Nothing New To Offer
, funny and nice watch. Reese Witherspoon is stunning, and it?s a treat for the eyes, but don?t watch it expecting it to be a statement of our time, it to change your opinions or beliefs or be controversial, because it?s all just one big gooey mess, that is a good watch. Aimee, I have to say liked it A LOT more than me, so maybe I am just a cynical, old grouch.
Financially it was more than a sound financial investment. It only cost 30 million to make, but worldwide it gathered the grand total of 181 million making it 9th most successful romantic comedy ever and the biggest Rom Com of 2002 beating Two weeks Notice and MaidInManhattan.
At Amazon.co.uk you can buy sweet Home Alabama on DVD for £8.97 ASIN: B00007KGBZ or Video for £14.99 ASIN: B00007KGBY
You can also buy the soundtrack for £ 11.99 ASIN: B00007F8VE
Thank you everyone ...
Marisa Ventura works as a maid in a top class Manhattan hotel. She meets a wealthy man called Christopher Marshall who is the heir to a political dynasty. Christopher is mistaken in thinking that she is actually at guest at the hotel and the pair share a magical romantic night together. He finally realises the truth but can they overcome their differences?...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
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SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Director Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB, SMOKE) updates the familiar Cinderella story in this charming romantic comedy. Jennifer Lopez stars as Marissa Ventura, a beautiful young woman who divides her time between her precocious son Ty (Tyler Posey) and her housekeeping duties at The Beresford, an upscale Manhattan hotel. When the boyish and affluent politician Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) shares an amusing elevator ride with Ty, he subsequently meets Marissa. As luck would have it, Marissa is mischievously sporting an exotic Dolce & Gabbana gown belonging to another Beresford tenant, and is mistaken by Christopher as a guest of the hotel. The two undeniably hit it off, but Marissa is unable to reveal her working-class secret, afraid of losing her job. Christopher is completely smitten and makes numerous attempts to locate her, despite the comedic fact she is often right under his nose. While the film is always lighthearted and fun, it does not shy away from foregrounding race and class issues, devoting much screen time to Marissa's coworkers and their struggles to survive. As a rags-to-riches fairy tale, MAID IN MANHATTAN hits all the right notes.
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