The Maid (1991)

Martin Sheen and Jackie Bisset are just wonderful together in this comedy dealing with a New York businessman (Anthony Wayne), Sheen, who moves to Paris to work for a company. Along the way, he follows Bisset, who is in need of a nanny for her precocious but obnoxious daughter.The young lady is terrific and I thought I was going to see another Quinn Cummings of "Goodbye Girl" fame but sadly her part is weakened to the prevailing story that while Sheen becomes the maid and wins the heart of the little girl, he is really going to being working in the same firm as Bisset. Imagine her reaction when she discovers who Sheen really is. The two will then work together to destroy someone who wants to borrow money from the firm but who is a very poor credit risk and someone who had romantic designs on Bisset.The story is quite predictable but it's nicely done and after all, we're in romantic Paris. Sheen proves that he has an ability to do comedy.

Anthony Wayne, an executive in a financial institution, receives an offer he can't refuse: he is hired by a prestigious French company and must relocate to Paris, not too shabby a deal, for anyone! His apartment in New York is a mess, something his cleaning lady reminds him of, when she comes to clean it.In Paris, Anthony is in awe of all the beautiful and elegant women he meets anywhere. He is at a loss, when he discovers the gorgeous Nicole. As he follows her, Anthony discovers she has a big problem: she can't control her bratty daughter Marie, who terrorizes all the maids Nicole employs. He has the brilliant idea to have himself hired as the new maid, in order to be next to Nicole, but what he doesn't realize, is that he has gotten more than what he bargained for.This romantic comedy, which we never knew existed, is a pleasant way to spend ninety minutes. One realizes what will happen from beginning to end, but we are lured by the fine work of the two principals of the film. Director Ian Toynton delivers a sort of French omelet that is light and delicious.Martin Sheen plays Anthony, the transplanted American who didn't realize Nicole would be employed in real life in Nicole's firm. He makes a wonderful waiter who must serve dinner to his real boss and a company of sophisticated corporate types without being discovered. Jacqueline Bisset, is also marvelous in the role of Nicole. Ms. Bisset is one of the most beautiful actresses, with a timeless beauty that is quite unmatched by her contemporaries. Jean-Pierre Cassel is C.P. the boss of Nicole and Anthony. Victoria Shalet, is the bratty Marie, who changes her attitude and become human as Anthony doesn't take any nonsense from her.This is a sunny comedy that will charm the viewer that is looking for an easy and relaxing time with a film.

I like this simply because of the chemistry between Martin and Jacqueline. I love films with storyline like this. Its quite predictable nonetheless it suits my romantic taste. Martin sheen is a ladies man. I love the fact that there's a brat involve and to win the girl of his dream he must win the kid's trust first. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Jacqueline is gorgeous and elegant as ever BTW. The bratty kid did a job well done at first. She might be a female kid version of the problem kid. The scene that fascinated me was the part where Anthony (Sheen) have to do the maid or for this matter a butlers job with his boss as one of the guest. Its so funny I was giggling the whole scene. I love the piano song as well.

Sheen gets very little opportunity to play romantic comedy, but he actually does it quite well.The trailer and summary say it all. Anthony Wayne is something of a ladies man, except he can't get the ladies. The clock in his house (which I would have thrown out years ago) may be a hint as to why, given the egomaniac side it suggests, but his heart's in the right place. Upon relocating in Paris he spots the lady he wants to spend time with and seeks a way to get closer. When he discovers she needs a maid he promptly turns up, only to discover she has a remarkably obnoxious brat of a daughter, which explains why she hasn't had any joy keeping maids up until now. His cash (allowing him to pay others to do the work), his charm and a good heart win over both mother and daughter. Problem is, he's actually the mother's new co-worker and, when she finds out his true identity, she's not impressed by his lies.OK, that's the summary, now what's wrong with it (since I gave it 8 and not 10). Primarily, the editing. This is the worst hack-job of editing I've seen in a long time. I'm sure there was more to explain how Wayne worked his way into the little girl's heart (the fact she managed to memorise the song in record-breaking time without actually being told the lyrics right through hints there's a huge edit there) and without all that, it's too pat. This is a brat of a daughter who's reduced stronger maids than him to pulp. Are we to assume that just because he's a man (and replacing the father-figure, perhaps?) that she's just going to suddenly behave herself? For an all too brief period she actually puts up a fight, but either the script lacked what was needed, or the editor hacked it out. Either way, the turn around from brat of the year to 'adorable' little girl is far too fast and totally unconvincing.The other problem is that whoever wrote this script knows exactly zip all about making deals, and it shows. Not that I wanted a comedy version of Wall Street but, again, the solution comes too easily and is totally unconvincing.That said, I enjoyed it. Sheen has some great moments and he's clearly enjoying himself. So much of what he's done in the past is heavy, thought-provoking, horror filled or just plain odd, and he rarely gets the chance to show he has a good sense of humour (although that's presently being rectified with The West Wing, wherein he manages to combine deadly serious, thought provoking stuff with some fall down funny lines). He's doing the best he can with a not very impressive script and, by and large, where the film falls down the problem does not lie in his performance.This is light-hearted fun. So long as you're not expecting anything more than what is essentially a 'chick-flick' with some nice moments, you won't be disappointed. The guys should enjoy Bisset while the romantics will enjoy something mildly entertaining and totally painless. You KNOW he's going to get his girl. The fact it doesn't make any sense is pretty irrelevant.Kudos to the actors, serious negative points to the writer and the editor, both of whom need to go back to school.