Maid in Manhattan might be nicknamed the new Pretty Woman--there are no surprises here. Jennifer Lopez plays the underdog woman who is swept off her feet by a rich and powerful man, played by Ralph Fienes. There are problems, of course, leading to the all very nice feel good ending that you know will be inevitable.

So, is "the new Pretty Woman" praise? Certainly the money moguls would be pleased. But is there value here? Pretty Woman, you'll recall, was the vehicle that brought Julia Roberts into the spotlight. She played the only virgin hooker on the block. And at the end of the movie, when Richard Gere does the knight on the white horse thing and saves her from a life on the streets, Julia "saves him right back"--it's some kind of weird cursory gesture to appease feminists.

Far from an underdog, Lopez is likely one of the most over-exposed pawns of today's media. She sings, she acts, she designs clothes, and she snuggles to the sexiest man alive, well, at least in some circles. This girl from Puerto Rico not only lives in America, she pretty much owns it.

But she's rather delightful in this role, totally implausible as it might be. And Ralph Fiennes provides an attractive if low-key foil to her star power. In Maid in Manhattan she is a maid at an exclusive hotel in Manhattan who dresses-up one day in a $5,000 outfit belonging to a guest, the perfectly snooty Caroline, brilliantly overplayed by Natasha Richardson. While in her finery, Lopez meets Fiennes, a Republican candidate for the senate, who mistakes her for someone else and immediately falls in love with her. Give it two seconds thought and it would all be rather offensive really, so be sure not to think about it.

So, is Maid in Manhattan the new Pretty Woman? I don't think so. Ralph Fiennes is rather appealing to look at, even though he seemed only a few degrees warmer than frozen. For all its feel good qualities, and the charm of Jennifer Lopez, this is not a film I'd be in a rush to see again.

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