Maid in Manhattan

Directed by Wayne Wang, Maid in Manhattan follows Jennifer Lopez’s Marisa Ventura as she finds herself falling for a prominent senatorial candidate (Ralph Fiennes’ Chris Marshall) staying at the hotel in which she works – with complications ensuing after Marisa decides to perpetuate Chris’ assumption that she’s actually a wealthy socialite. It’s an agreeably hoary setup that’s employed to watchable (if entirely forgettable) effect by Wang, as the filmmaker, working from a screenplay by Kevin Wade, delivers a well-paced romcom that benefits substantially from the completely charismatic work of its two stars – with Lopez and Fiennes’ winning efforts here amplified by the palpable chemistry that exists between their respective protagonists. (And it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Wang has packed the supporting cast with such scene-stealers as Stanley Tucci and Bob Hoskins.) There’s little doubt, then, that Maid in Manhattan‘s overall impact is hindered by a continuing emphasis on rather tedious subplots and a third act, fake break-up stretch that goes on just a little too long, which, when coupled with a slightly overlong running time, ultimately cements the picture’s place as a just-good-enough romantic comedy that’s about as middle-of-the-road as they come.

**1/2 out of ****