Grade:

Verdict: J.Lo.'s latest effort turns into a Cinderella story gone stale.

Details: Starring Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes and Tyler Garcia Posey. Directed by Wayne Wang. Rated PG-13 for sexual language and references. One hour, 45 minutes.

See it: Theaters and showtimes for Maid in Manhattan

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Review:

Remember how David Spade used to skewer popular culture in his "Hollywood Minute" segments on "Saturday Night Live"? It's worth recalling, if only to consider how Spade would summarize "Maid in Manhattan," Jennifer Lopez's latest star vehicle.

"Hmmm, a film about a working-class girl in the big city, who pretends to be some rich chick," Spade might say. "I loved it ... when it was called 'Working Girl.'"

Indeed, the connections between "Maid in Manhattan" and "Working Girl" are apparent at almost every turn, so it comes as no surprise they share a common screenwriter (Kevin Wade). Both begin with sweeping panoramas of the city, setting up a Cinderella-like story of a young woman from the outer boroughs who's destined to find her way in Manhattan. In "Maid," that woman is a single mother from The Bronx who works as a chambermaid in a posh hotel. In "Working Girl," she's a newly married secretary from Staten Island. In "Maid," an ambitious politician serves as the love interest. In "Working Girl," an ambitious Wall Street type.

But imitation fails to be the sincerest form of flattery in this instance. After all, "Working Girl" had plenty going for it, from a soundtrack powered by a memorable Carly Simon song ("Let the River Run") to a smart script full of quick retorts to a sexy performance by Melanie Griffith as the secretary. As for "Maid in Manhattan," it's got, well, J.Lo.

Sure, there's something appealing about the actress playing a part that's practically pulled from the pages of her life story. Yes, she's a Puerto Rican girl from The Bronx. Yes, she used to be poor. And, yes, she schlepped into Manhattan.

But authenticity will get you only so far. In J.Lo.'s case, it amounts to a couple of nice, if predictable, speeches about being honest to yourself. The rest, however, requires some acting, some attitude, some heat.

And it's here that her performance suffers from a case of the blahs. For that matter, so does the rest of the film. Instead of a fairy tale, we have a tale told without imagination. It's Cinderella gone stale.

The story traces Lopez's character, Marisa Ventura, from her crowded apartment to the swanky confines of the Beresford Hotel, often with her precocious 10-year-old son, Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) in tow. One Saturday, in a game of make-believe, she ends up trying on some pricey threads belonging to a guest, the socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson). That leads to a case of mistaken identity involving an up-and-coming politician, Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), with JFK written all over him.

Marisa plays along with the fantasy. At the same time, she angles for a promotion, prompted by her co-worker pals Stephanie (Marissa Matrone), a chatty chambermaid, and Lionel (Bob Hoskins), a butler straight from the old school. The girl, in other words, is ready to leave The Bronx. But what happens when her guise comes undone?

You can blame Lopez for sleepwalking through the part, but the case of Fiennes is a little more problematic. Here's an actor fully capable of committing himself to a role, and yet he seems as thoroughly uninterested as his female costar. The part is pure Cary Grant, but Fiennes plays it with a woodenness that brings to mind a bad imitation of Harrison Ford. Of course, Ford was the male lead in "Working Girl," but that role seemed to be written around his stolid persona. Fiennes, on the other hand, simply isn't the charmer he's supposed to be.

And where's the director in the midst of all this romantic interplay — or lack thereof? Wayne Wang ("The Joy Luck Club") is given the task: He's an unlikely choice, considering that his previous work was far more understated than the Hollywood norm. Perhaps the producers thought he could bring a quiet gentility to this slick bit of romantic fluff. Instead, he fails on both counts: The pic is neither gentle nor slick enough.

And although Wang manages to capture some of the behind-the-scenes details at a first-class hotel — think Upstairs/Downstairs at your local Four Seasons — the story isn't really about that. Nor is it about the world of celebrity politics, though the movie makes some interesting statements about the subject, particularly in the form of the always entertaining Stanley Tucci playing a befuddled campaign manager.

Instead, Maid in Manhattan is about J.Lo. at the ball, hoping to fulfill her dream before the clock strikes midnight. Too bad we fell asleep long before that.

— Charles Passy, Cox News Service