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Review by Harvey Karten
2½ stars out of 4
When the largely aristocratic framers of our Declaration of
Independence talked about the equality of all Americans, they
sure didn't mean economic equality. Nor would social equality be
likely to result from the way things are done in the U.S. The rich
are different from the rest of us not only because they have money
but because they have connections, they have certain social
graces, they have the ability to move up in their professions more
easily than we. Because of the social differences between the
classes, a marriage between a prince and Cinderella is as likely
to come about as a union between Rudy Giuliani and Al Sharpton.
There's one exception to the general rule. In the movies,
anything can happen. In Wayne Wang's Cinderella story, "Maid
in Manhattan," filmed without a single scene shot in Vancouver, a
politician known even more for his playboy reputation than his
position of power falls in love at first sight with a maid. If such a
bonding is next to impossible given our system of social classes,
how could this occur? Simple. Have the woman pretend to be
someone else, an Eliza Doolittle transformed to a Hungarian
princess, as it were. Then reveal identity only after Cupid's arrows
have found their marks.
Scripter Kevin Wade's urban fable of centering on an unlikely
Holly Golightly takes place almost entirely in midtown Manhattan
in the vicinity of Grand Central Station, at a first-class hotel whose
regular population includes single mother Marisa Ventura (Jennifer
Lopez). Marisa is the titled maid in Manhattan, who cleans the
rooms of an odd and occasionally obnoxious assortment of
guests while looking after her cute and gifted son, Ty (Tyler
Posey). Convinced that she will never rise above her station, she
is nevertheless pushed to apply for a management job in the hotel
by her best friend and fellow maid, who is fond of getting into
mischief. Dressing up in the expensive threads of a rich and
pushy resident, Caroline (Natasha Richardson), Marissa is seen
by candidate for the U.S. Senate and man-about town, Chris
Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), who mistakes her for Caroline and feels
an instant connection ironically because he does not consider her
a phony. Though discouraged in his pursuit by his campaign
manager, Jerry Siegel (Stanley Tucci), the politician and the
princess carry out a full-day's courtship, spurred by the film's
Shakespearean theme of mistaken identity. Per the conventions
of romantic comedy, they're kept apart by Marisa's fear of
exposing her occupation and by the campaign manager's
insistence that his boss stay clear of bad press.
"Maid in Manhattan" is quite a switch for Wayne Wang, the
Hong Kong born director named after John Wayne. Wang would
be a more likely candidate for a low-budget indie like the $22,000
film "Chan is Missing" or the slightly more costly "Life is
Cheap...But Toilet Paper is Expensive." Yet considering his "Eat
a Bowl of Tea," Wang does show a flair for examining cross-
cultural liaisons and with "Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart," with
mother-daughter relationships. In Wang's exploration of a
relationship that transcends social class, "Maid in Manhattan" is
merely pleasant enough fare, typically what's called a date movie,
though one may wonder why the forty-year-old British actor Ralph
Fiennes, best in much more serious works like "The English
Patient," "Sunshine," and "The End of the Affair," got tapped for
the role rather than, say, Ben Affleck. Kevin Wade's dialogue is
short on wit, the only memorable line occurring when the rich and
aggressive Caroline suggests to Chris that they meet once again
for lunch, to which Chris replies, "A second time would be
torture," Caroline replies, "Drinks, then?"
Copyright © 2002 Harvey Karten
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out of 4
