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| Genre: | Comedy |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Rating: | PG13 |
| Cast: | Wayne Wang, Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, Christopher Eigeman |
Jennifer Lopez dips into Jenny-from-the-'hood mode to portray a Puerto Rican chambermaid in this frothy romantic comedy, which features the normally dour Ralph Fiennes at his most charming and upbeat. He costars as a wealthy senatorial candidate who makes a luxurious New York hotel his temporary campaign headquarters. J.-Lo, a single mom who dreams of a better life for herself and her son (Tyler Posey), is accidentally mistaken by Fiennes for the glamorous socialite whose suite she is cleaning, and a very unlikely romance ensues. Lopez, the daughter of working-class parents, brings credibility to her characterization of the ambitious maid, who realizes that she can't keep deceiving the candidate but dreads telling him the truth. Director Wayne Wang (Center of the World), not at all accustomed to working with such material, hews closely to established genre conventions and elicits good performances from his players. Fiennes is surprisingly engaging as the warmhearted politician, Natasha Richardson is delightfully ditzy as the socialite for whom Lopez is mistaken, and Stanley Tucci is deliciously tart as the candidate's win-at-any-cost campaign manager. But it's J.-Lo's show all the way; she holds this modern-day Cinderella story together by force of personality alone. Warm and affecting, she'll make you empathize with the chambermaid so much so that you'll gladly overlook the corny plot devices needed to tie up all the loose ends. Ed Hulse
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