At the Movies - 'Maid in Manhattan'

The Associated Press

Jennifer Lopez has entered the rarefied stratosphere that Madonna occupies, making it hard to ignore the fact that when we see her on screen now, we're watching Jennifer Lopez, multimedia empire.

So when her "Maid in Manhattan" character, Marisa, rides the No. 6 train from the Bronx to her job as a maid at an upscale hotel, it reminds us that that's the same commute Lopez made back when she was an aspiring singer-dancer, which inspired the title of her first album, "On the 6."

When Marisa emerges from the hotel in head-to-toe Dolce & Gabbana, and paparazzi swarm outside to snap a photo of her with U.S. Senate candidate Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), her comment -- "I couldn't do it, all those photographers all the time" -- reminds that she does exactly that, all the time.

(In the video for her ubiquitous new song "Jenny from the Block," Lopez even makes fun of the constant media attention she and fiance Ben Affleck receive.)

And when she gets dolled up for a date with Chris at a black-tie event, she wears a poofy pink ball gown reminiscent of the dress Lopez wore to the Oscars this year.

Counting the J.Lo trivia tidbits is almost as fun as keeping track of the ways in which "Maid in Manhattan" rehashes "Pretty Woman," and "Working Girl," and the source material for both, "Cinderella." At least it's a welcome distraction from the predictable script from Kevin Wade, who also wrote "Working Girl." (So that's why it feels so familiar!)

Marisa dreams of a better life, like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman" and Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl."

She falls for a sophisticated, wealthy man (Fiennes), who performs the same function as Richard Gere in "Pretty Woman" and Harrison Ford in "Working Girl."

She has a wacky best friend (Marissa Matrone) who pushes her to go after her dreams, like Laura San Giacomo in "Pretty Woman" and Joan Cusack in "Working Girl."

And it has the hidden-identity element that's the core of "Cinderella." Chris sees Marisa after she's tried on a designer outfit belonging to a socialite (Natasha Richardson) who's staying at the hotel. He mistakes her for the woman and is instantly smitten.

Chris also hits it off with Marisa's 10-year-old son, Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey), who's interested in politics. Ty takes a liking to Chris' Weimaraner pup, Rufus, and in no time the whole group is off on a jaunt through Central Park.

(No matter that Marisa is supposed to be working, and Chris is supposed to be campaigning, as his manager, played adeptly by Stanley Tucci, constantly reminds him.)

We have to take it on faith that Marisa and Chris are magically drawn to each other, because we'd never know it from their less-than-witty banter. They giggle nervously, then she worries that she's gotten something on the back of the Dolce & Gabbana pants outfit she's "borrowed."

"Is it OK?" Marisa asks, turning around to inspect her backside.

"It's perfect," Chris responds with a slightly wanton smile. (A reminder that we're watching J.Lo and her world-famous derriere.)

Wayne Wang's movie is sporadically funny and tolerable until the over-the-top feel-good ending. Lopez is likable enough, even though she and Fiennes produce all the sparks of afternoon tea at The Plaza hotel.

What is Fiennes doing here, by the way? After receiving Oscar nominations for such serious movies in the '90s as "Schindler's List" and "The English Patient," he's seriously stepped down this year, taking ill-fitting roles here and in the mediocre "Red Dragon."

He and Tucci and Bob Hoskins, who plays the hotel's longtime butler, belong together in a better movie. Now that would be a real fairy tale.

"Maid in Manhattan," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for some language/sexual references.

Running time: 105 minutes.

Two stars out of four.