A Family Affair is Netflix’s latest rom-com directed by Richard Lagravenese from a screenplay by Carrie Solomon. The Netflix film follows the story of Zara, a young woman with aspirations of becoming a film producer, but currently, she works as an assistant for a self-obsessed and childish movie star, Chris Cole. While Zara hates her job and boss, she still tolerates them, but things get worse when she finds out that her mother and boss are romantically involved. A Family Affair has an amazing cast, including Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, and Kathy Bates. So, if you loved the romance, banter, and hijinks of A Family Affair, here are some similar romcoms you could watch next.
The Idea of You (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video
The Idea of You is a romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based...
The Idea of You (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video
The Idea of You is a romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based...
- 6/28/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Maid in Manhattan
Hollywood's latest take on Cinderella finds Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes caught up romantically in a movie that acts like a late-'30s comedy of social classes. What contemporizes the old-fashioned tale is the emphasis on Lopez's ethnicity. While this does create a few tricky moments where the movie, directed by Wayne Wang, must dance around politically incorrect potholes, "Maid in Manhattan" has charm on its side: Lopez, looking stunning in Dolce & Gabbana creations, exudes warmth and sensuality; Fiennes tones his mannerisms down to convince you he is an affable American plutocrat; and Tyler Garcia Posey, as Lopez's precocious son, nearly steals the show.
As a romantic comedy, "Maid" pretty much has the holiday field to itself, so, along with Lopez's growing power at the boxoffice, this Revolution Studios entry should create nothing but smiles at Sony.
In a slight twist on his "Working Girl" screenplay, Kevin Wade positions Lopez's Marisa Ventura as a divorced mother living in the Bronx and working as a maid in a swank Manhattan hotel. Several eccentric guests check in, including Natasha Richardson's Caroline Lane, an unhappy socialite recently dumped by a louse, and Fiennes' Christopher Marshall, a state senator setting up headquarters in a campaign for his late father's seat in the U.S. Senate.
One day, Marisa must bring her son, Ty (Posey), to work. It gets more than a little contrived here, but at the exact moment Ty makes friends with the politician and needs to find his mom to ask if he can accompany Chris as he walks his dog, Marisa, in a lapse from her usual sound judgment, is slipping into one of Caroline's chic outfits at the urging of fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone in the Thelma Ritter role). So when Chris enters Caroline's suite with Ty and encounters gorgeous Marisa in a $5,000 wardrobe, he naturally assumes she is a guest. Once this mistaken identity is carefully established, the story can proceed with Chris' romantic pursuit of Marisa, the tabloid press' pursuit of this Mystery Woman in the senator's life and Marisa's game of deceit with hotel management that jeopardizes her hopes of a career in that business.
The material is thin, not only from wear over the movie decades but from the inability of Wade (working from a story by Edmond Dantes) to update the fairy tale. Making the maid a Latina is certainly realistic but never quite avoids the suggestion that upward mobility is best achieved through marriage into Anglo society. Lopez gets on a soapbox a couple of times to deliver proud-to-be-Latino speeches, but the fairy tale slipper fits awkwardly on the foot of reality during such moments.
The movie also miscalculates by insisting that the two wind up in bed under false pretenses, which reflects negatively on Lopez's character. Besides, how does a woman known to every employee in the hotel sneak past them all?
Wang nicely paces things so interludes between man, woman and cupid disguised as a boy from the Bronx have an easygoing naturalness. You believe everyone is falling in love with each other. There is fine character work in smaller roles too, especially Bob Hoskins as a precise yet paternal butler and Stanley Tucci as an overanxious campaign manager.
Karl Walter Lindenlaub's lensing sparkles with sharp focus and subtle lighting, turning Manhattan into an isle perhaps not as romanticized as Woody Allen's but nonetheless a great setting for romance. Jane Musky's sets and Albert Wolsky's costumes keep things real but not really real. And what a treat actually to see New York in a New York story rather than a northeastern Canadian city.
MAID IN MANHATTAN
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Kevin Wade
Story by: Edmond Dantes
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Charles Newirth, Benny Medina
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Editor: Craig McKay
Casting: Jonathan Strauss, Todd M. Thaler
Cast:
Marisa Ventura: Jennifer Lopez
Christopher Marshall: Ralph Fiennes
Caroline Lane
Natasha Richardson
Jerry Siegel: Stanley Tucci
Ty Ventura: Tyler Garcia Posey
Stephanie Kehoe: Marissa Matrone
Lionel Bloch: Bob Hoskins
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
As a romantic comedy, "Maid" pretty much has the holiday field to itself, so, along with Lopez's growing power at the boxoffice, this Revolution Studios entry should create nothing but smiles at Sony.
In a slight twist on his "Working Girl" screenplay, Kevin Wade positions Lopez's Marisa Ventura as a divorced mother living in the Bronx and working as a maid in a swank Manhattan hotel. Several eccentric guests check in, including Natasha Richardson's Caroline Lane, an unhappy socialite recently dumped by a louse, and Fiennes' Christopher Marshall, a state senator setting up headquarters in a campaign for his late father's seat in the U.S. Senate.
One day, Marisa must bring her son, Ty (Posey), to work. It gets more than a little contrived here, but at the exact moment Ty makes friends with the politician and needs to find his mom to ask if he can accompany Chris as he walks his dog, Marisa, in a lapse from her usual sound judgment, is slipping into one of Caroline's chic outfits at the urging of fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone in the Thelma Ritter role). So when Chris enters Caroline's suite with Ty and encounters gorgeous Marisa in a $5,000 wardrobe, he naturally assumes she is a guest. Once this mistaken identity is carefully established, the story can proceed with Chris' romantic pursuit of Marisa, the tabloid press' pursuit of this Mystery Woman in the senator's life and Marisa's game of deceit with hotel management that jeopardizes her hopes of a career in that business.
The material is thin, not only from wear over the movie decades but from the inability of Wade (working from a story by Edmond Dantes) to update the fairy tale. Making the maid a Latina is certainly realistic but never quite avoids the suggestion that upward mobility is best achieved through marriage into Anglo society. Lopez gets on a soapbox a couple of times to deliver proud-to-be-Latino speeches, but the fairy tale slipper fits awkwardly on the foot of reality during such moments.
The movie also miscalculates by insisting that the two wind up in bed under false pretenses, which reflects negatively on Lopez's character. Besides, how does a woman known to every employee in the hotel sneak past them all?
Wang nicely paces things so interludes between man, woman and cupid disguised as a boy from the Bronx have an easygoing naturalness. You believe everyone is falling in love with each other. There is fine character work in smaller roles too, especially Bob Hoskins as a precise yet paternal butler and Stanley Tucci as an overanxious campaign manager.
Karl Walter Lindenlaub's lensing sparkles with sharp focus and subtle lighting, turning Manhattan into an isle perhaps not as romanticized as Woody Allen's but nonetheless a great setting for romance. Jane Musky's sets and Albert Wolsky's costumes keep things real but not really real. And what a treat actually to see New York in a New York story rather than a northeastern Canadian city.
MAID IN MANHATTAN
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presents a Red Om Films production
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Kevin Wade
Story by: Edmond Dantes
Producers: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Deborah Schindler, Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Charles Newirth, Benny Medina
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Jane Musky
Music: Alan Silvestri
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Editor: Craig McKay
Casting: Jonathan Strauss, Todd M. Thaler
Cast:
Marisa Ventura: Jennifer Lopez
Christopher Marshall: Ralph Fiennes
Caroline Lane
Natasha Richardson
Jerry Siegel: Stanley Tucci
Ty Ventura: Tyler Garcia Posey
Stephanie Kehoe: Marissa Matrone
Lionel Bloch: Bob Hoskins
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/2/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.