Maid in Manhattan (2002)
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A hotel maid and a high-profile politician fall in love after a chance encounter involving a designer coat.
The story
Marisa Ventura is a single mother working as a maid at the Beresford Hotel in Manhattan. While cleaning a room, her co-worker convinces her to try on an expensive designer coat belonging to a socialite. Meanwhile, Marisa's son befriends a senatorial candidate who visits the hotel. The candidate meets Marisa while she is wearing the coat and,mistaking her for the socialite, becomes instantly smitten. Although they develop an attraction, Marisa is terrified of being discovered by hotel management and attempts to avoid him, creating a conflict between her personal feelings and her professional aspirations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Marisa Ventura, a maid at the Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, is mistaken for a socialite by senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall after she tries on a designer coat. The two begin a clandestine affair, but Marisa fears for her job. The hotel's head butler, Lionel Bloch, discovers the truth and advises Marisa to end the affair to secure her promotion to management. Marisa attends a dinner with Chris but is unable to break off their connection and spends the night in his room. The next day, the real socialite, Caroline Lane, discovers them and reports Marisa to management, resulting in Marisa being fired in front of Chris. After a period of separation where Marisa works at another hotel, Chris gives a news conference where Marisa's son asks him about forgiveness. The two are reunited, and the film concludes with Chris being elected and the couple remaining together a year later, with Marisa promoted to management.
- Original title
- The Chambermaid
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Wayne Wang
- Writers
- John Hughes · story; Kevin Wade · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jennifer Lopez · Marisa Ventura; Ralph Fiennes · Christopher "Chris" Marshall; Natasha Richardson · Caroline Lane; Stanley Tucci · Lionel Bloch; Bob Hoskins · Jerry Siegal
- Genres
- romantic comedy; drama
- Themes
- interclass romance; upward mobility; identity
- Tone and mood
- romantic; fairy-tale; glossy
- Premise and plot tags
- Cinderella-type story; romance; hotel setting
- Source material / true-story basis
- Story by John Hughes (credited as Edmond Dantès)
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its fairy-tale appeal and others criticizing its lack of imagination and chemistry.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 32; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled The Chambermaid and then Uptown Girl.; John Hughes was initially announced as the director with Hilary Swank set to star.; Paparazzi and spectators forced filming to stop on the first day of production in The Bronx.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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