I really loved this movie!  It's a sweet, heartfelt and believable Cinderella-like love story that will surely delight you. 

     Jennifer Lopez plays Marisa, a working-class maid in a posh Manhattan hotel.  Among the list of distinguished guests at the hotel is assemblyman, and candidate for governor, Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes).  One day Marisa brings her son to work and he runs amok.  In the elevator, he bumps into Chris who's about to walk his dog.  The son rushes to the room where his mother is cleaning to ask her if he can tag along with Chris.  When Chris and the son enter the room, Marisa walks out in a fancy dress, which belongs to one of the hotel's wealthy guests, Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson).

     Marisa decides to tag along with both of them as they walk through Central Park.  Chris mistakes Marisa for Caroline, but she goes along with the lie and he ends up asking her to a ball.  Now, Marisa must keep trying to hide the fact that she's a maid, which is pretty difficult since a Paparazzi photo of her and Chris is on the front page of the paper and she is now assistant manager at the hotel.  

     "Maid in Manhattan" is not the usual dopey romantic comedy.  Yes, it's sentimental.  Yes, it has a happy ending.  But the ending made me smile, rather than cringe and sarcastically blurt out, "Jesus Christ, I didn't see that coming."  As a matter of fact, I was smiling throughout most of the film.  Its intention is to be a fluffy feel-good movie and it definitely made me feel good. 

     But it was only the film's charm that drew me in.  I also felt the love story was believable.  The way the usual formula would go is Ralph Fiennes' character is a tight-fisted politician and he meets a normal, everyday woman who loosens him up and his personality suddenly does a 360.  Instead, Fiennes is likeable and charming throughout.  I know that a down-to-earth politician is hard to find, and totally goes against stereotype, but I'm sure there are some of them out there.  Anyway, it feels convincing when he insists on chasing after Lopez's character, and it doesn't feel like a cheap Hollywood plot device. 

     The movie is a good change of pace for Ralph Fiennes, whose last role was an introverted serial killer in "Red Dragon".  He surely has what it takes to be a romantic lead, and him and Jennifer Lopez totally light up the screen.  Stanley Tucci plays Fiennes' uptight advisor, a role he's way too good at. 

     The story should contain no surprises, but I didn't mind.  As I mentioned, the characters are credible and the performances make them even more credible.  I enjoyed the subplot between Fiennes and Lopez's son, in which he tries to help the little man through his stage fright, a problem he's also dealing with.  That's another thing that made this movie work.  It has a great human element. 

     I left the theater feeling great.  Maybe I should call it a feel-great movie.  Is a good date movie?  Of course!  But I'm sure most guys will pretend they hated it, while they're heads are turned to the side as they discreetly wipe the tears off the sides of their eyes.