Maid In Manhattan Blu-ray Review

Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is an everyday average woman struggling with the daily work and taking care of her young kid, Ty (Tyler Posey). On what it seems like a regular day, fate had different plans stored for Marisa, senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) has just checked in to the hotel where she works as a maid and little did she know this would change her entire life. Christopher meets Marisa and mistakes her for a socialite and after a long walk and an entertaining afternoon, the two fall in love, but can their different social status separate them when the truth comes out? Can two people from completely different backgrounds see past their differences and live happily ever after?

With so many romantic comedies out there to choose from, where does Maid In Manhattan stands? Well, to put it lightly it’s just like any other love story. It doesn’t revolutionize the genre, it’s story that has been told many times before with many different themes and different people from different backgrounds. Ultimately the story remains the same. Sure, romantic comedies are not my cup of tea, but I can see past my preferences most of the time and admit when I see a good movie. I am not saying the movie was bad, not at all, just that the story is pretty old.

Maid In Manhattan was entertaining for the most part. However, I did find the whole Latino stereotype speeches coming from Jennifer Lopez as well as some other characters in the film a bit annoying. It just sort of feeds the thought that the wealthy just see the rest by the color and race rather than by the person they are. Although I found plenty of things to complain about, I have to say I was entertained. Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes make the movie watchable. Lopez and Fiennes have a great connection and enthusiasm in every scene and the surrounding cast also helps make this film colorful by adding all types of different personalities. All in all the film is entertaining even with its fairytale story.

Maid In Manhattan arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.40:1. The colors are vibrant just take a look at the many New York City shots to realize how great it looks. The fine details have improved from the previous DVD version (obviously), nicely reproducing inside and the outside shots. Skin tones are natural and I didn’t detect any oversaturation. Another fine transfer for an older catalog title. Thanks Sony!

Maid In Manhattan arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio lossless track. This time around there’s a noticeable improvement even if most of the film is dialogue driven. The dialogue is clean, crisp and clear. It’s never overshadowed by the film’s score with is much lively and crystal clear compared to the DVD version. There isn’t much use for the surrounds, but they do come to play during scenes where Jennifer Lopez is walking through the streets of Manhattan and the sounds from the people around surround you making you feel part of the crowd. It’s a satisfactory track and it perfectly fits a film like this one. It’s not robust, but it delivers when needed.

The extras of this film are pretty much non-existent. The studio did not produce any new set of supplements, I can’t comment what is included in the DVD version, but this release only includes a Blooper Reel and a set of Theatrical Trailers. I got to say I am not entirely disappointed seeing as this is not a huge blockbuster, although a nice set supplements should be included in every release.

Maid In Manhattan is not a new story, but it’s definitely entertaining. Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes deliver and make this film enjoyable. With good video and audio transfers and possibly the same amount of supplements as previous versions you can go ahead and replace your DVD version. The film is aimed more for the female demographic and if you are looking for a good romantic comedy you might want to check out Maid In Manhattan.