Customer Reviews

Maid in Manhattan / Fools Rush In

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These are two of the best.I love these movies.They are both movies that make you feel good.I will watch them again and again.Nothing is better than watching a great romantic movie.

I ordered these two romantic comedy DVD's packaged together, and received a third one completely free! I love all three movies and am enjoying them very much. Thank You!

MAID IN MANHATTAN ***

This is a relatively pleasant, though eminently forgettable, once-upon- a-time romantic comedy. Not even its excellent supporting cast can make this tepid movie better than it should be. Ralph Fiennes, with his sometimes British, sometimes American accent, and Jennifer Lopez, with her beauty marred the minute she opens her mouth, are the would be mis-matched lovers.

Fiennes plays Chris Marshall, a wealthy, to the manor born, silver spoon, political candidate. Lopez plays Marissa Ventura, a working class woman and single parent with an adorable, precocious, ten year old son named Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey). Marissa works as a maid in the posh hotel in which Marshall is a guest. When her son accompanies her to work one day, he runs into Chris Marshall and recognizes him. They start up a conversation and before you know it they are going to go off for a walk together, only Ty has to ask his mom. They go to the suite in which she is cleaning, only thing is that she has tried one of the haute couture outfits belonging to a wealthy businesswoman named Caroline who is staying in the suite.

Naturally, Marissa looks gorgeous in this outfit and is wearing it when Ty and Chris enter the suite. Chris is smitten, and all three go for a walk in the park. Chris does not know, and Marissa does not disclose, that she is one of the maids in the hotel. Don't ask. Don't tell.

When Chris, thinking that his dream woman's name is Caroline, forwards an invitation for lunch to her ostensible suite, the real Caroline (Natasha Richardson) responds. Let the games begin! Marissa spends quite a bit if time avoiding running into Chris in her work clothes. When she finally runs into him in the street, Chris instructs his aide to find her and invite her to a glittering soiree. She gets the invitation via the hotel butler (Bob Hoskins), along with some advice, and decides to go for the gold. With her fellow employees at the hotel acting as collective fairy godmothers, she gets the proverbial ball gown, diamonds, makeover, and emerges a princess, making a dramatic entrance at the ball, further entrancing Chris. When she runs off before the ball is over, he pursues her, and what then follows is a night to remember.

Of course, Natasha, who is also at the ball, sees Marissa and Chris together and realizes that she looks familiar. Consumed by the green eyed monster, she contacts the hotel authorities when the morning after the ball she sees Marissa, exiting the suite occupied by Chris and still wearing the diamond necklace she wore at the ball. A review of security tapes leads to her identification of Marissa and a host of other things. Chris is now faced with a choice, as is Marissa.

The film is pretty formulaic in that it is filmed as a fairy tale. Of course it has the proverbial happy ending. The film is saved by the very funny performance of Natasha Richardson and her pre-menopausal, obnoxious friend played with relish and delicious abandon by Amy Sedaris. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Jerry, Chris Marshall's campaign manager. Bob Hoskins is very good as the prim and proper hotel butler, though the film strikes a false note towards the end when he gives Marissa a final speech that is ridiculous. Tyler Garcia Posey is a totally adorable child actor who gives a very natural and engaging performance.

Ralph Fiennes gives a decent performance but has difficulty maintaining an American accent. Jennifer Lopez gives a better performance than she usually does but that is not saying a lot. It is unfortunate that to date she has been unable to replicate the level of performance that she gave in "Selena", the film that propelled her into stardom. She is, however, totally drop dead gorgeous when she is all gussied up, looking every inch the princess.

Still, if one's expectations are not too high, one should find this to be a mildly entertaining, romantic comedy. Rent it rather than buy it.


FOOLS RUSH IN ****

This is a delightful romantic comedy. Matthew Perry is a charming, self-effacing leading man. Salma Hayek is a most fetching and winsome leading lady. Strong performances by the supporting cast help make this a most enjoyable movie.

Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) lives in New York and has a high powered job as a field agent for a builder that specializes in the construction of night clubs. He is sent to Las Vegas to supervise new construction. While there, he meets a fiery, latin beaty, Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), with whom he has a very memorable one night stand. This is totally out of character for both of them. In fact, she is so embarrassed by what happened, that she sneaks out of his house first thing in the morning. Before he even knows it, she is gone, never to be heard from again, until she shows up on his door step three months later to announce that she is pregnant with his baby.

Alex tells her that he supports her right to choose. Isabel chooses to have the baby. She asks nothing from him other than he meet her family, so that it is not such a shock when she announces that she is pregnant. He agrees to do so. He meets her traditional, Mexican-American family and is taken by their warmth, a quality that is sorely lacking in his family. He rarely sees his own family, except for the obligatory holidays, while Isabel meets hers once a week for dinner.

Alex and Isabel fall in love and have a quickie marriage ceremony performed in Las Vegas. Naturally, as they are now husband and wife. they move in together. Then reality sets in. They contend with cultural difference, with pain in the you know what in-laws, and with the every day adjustments necessary, when living with someone one does not, as yet, know. Then, the trust that had developed is violated, and they each go their own separate ways.

What happens with the baby? Does the marriage survive? Watch the movie and find out. The experience will be an enjoyable one.

I love that movie! It's very sweet and refreshing. Jennifer Lopez is a gifted actress, she can show real emotions on screen, and that's what acting is all about.

In 2002, the romantic comedy "Maid in Manhattan" was a box office success. #1 in the box office and earning over a $154 million worldwide.

The film was directed by Wayne Wang ("The Joy Luck Club", "Last Holiday", "The Center of the World") and a screenplay by Kevin Wade ("Meet Joe Black", "Working Girl", "Mr. Baseball"). The film would feature cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub ("Georgia Rule", "Ninja Assasin", "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian") and music by Alan Silvestri ("Beowulf", "Night at the Museum", "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" and "The Mummy" films).

VIDEO:

"Maid in Manhattan" is featured in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio). Having seen this film several times on DVD, I can tell you that the film looks vibrant on Blu-ray. The New York City skyline looks absolutely beautiful in the background and with many colors throughout the film, once again Sony Pictures Home Entertainment does a great job with the transfer. Skin tones are natural and Jennifer Lopez looks absolute beautiful. Detail is much more evident during the hotel sequences but it's the scenes when they are outdoor and you see New York City, which I found to be beautiful. It definitely caught my attention when I saw it on Blu-ray.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Also, catching my attention this time around is the lossless audio. The film is presented in English, French and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Thai and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Although the film is dialogue driven and audio is primarily front and center channel, I felt the music was really lively this time around. Simon and Garfunkel's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" sounded pristine in lossless. As for surround channel, there was not much being used (or was there a need for it) but did notice certain crowd scenes (primarily when Ty was giving his speech) and the reverb from the mic of the host of the speech night being heard through the surround channels.

But for the most part, the lossless audio is satisfactory for this type of film. Again, I found the lossless audio much more apparent now than I have ever experienced watching this film prior on DVD.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, Thai, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified).

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Maid in Manhattan" comes with a single special feature in standard definition and in English stereo with Spanish, Chinese, Thai and Portuguese subtitles.

* Blooper Reel - (7:31) Bloopers from "Maid in Manhattan"
* Trailers - Upcoming or available films on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Maid in Manhattan"is a delightful romantic comedy. It's also my favorite film to feature Jennifer Lopez, who had come a long way since her appearance on "Selena" and "Anaconda". But most importantly, I felt that the film was good timing at the theaters. I remember watching this film (which went up against another romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock and also shot in NYC) a year after 9/11 and thinking how beautiful New York City looked and how appropriate it was to bring the NYC romantic comedy back on the big screen.

I enjoyed the film for its lightheartedness and although not necessarily complex, just a fun romantic comedy to sit back, watch and enjoy. Although, in a sense it is a fairytale romantic comedy along the same vein as "Pretty Woman", where Julia Roberts and Richard Gere had magnificent chemistry, although Lopez and Fiennes worked well together, I felt that the two didn't have the same type of magic.

Overall, "Maid in Manhattan" is a simple but fun romantic comedy and for those who enjoyed the film on DVD, the beautiful visuals of the New York City skyline and hearing that Simon and Garfunkel music, all so clearly in lossless audio may be enough for you to upgrade. The original DVD was a bit lackluster in special features, so at least people can see the blooper reel included. It would have been nice to have an audio commentary or featurette to be included but at least there is something and it's not another barebones release.

If you are looking for a romantic comedy film just in time for Valentines Day or just a big fan of the film or J.Lo, then "Maid in Manhattan" is definitely worth picking up on Blu-ray!

Two movies I enjoy very much and how can you beat getting 2 for 1?

Great Price on these two Love Story classics. Jennifer Lopez is superb !!!

I have always loved fools rush in and when I bought this I got another movie with it for the same price, who could complain huh?

I thoroughly enjoyed both movies, I had seen Fools Rush in many years ago, but had never seen Maid in America. I would highly recommend this combo to anyone, both movies are very good in my opinion.