Maid to Order (1987)

Director:

Amy Holden Jones

Writers:

Amy Holden Jones (written by) and
Perry Howze (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy

Tagline:

She was raise in a Beverly Hills mansion. Now, she's got to clean one. Ally Sheedy is Jessie Montgomery ... worse help is hard to find.

Plot:

Spoiled Jessie Montgomery, whose wild behavior and spending excesses cause her well-meaning but exasperated...

Plot Keywords:

Maid | Fairy Godmother | Party | Wish | Couple

Cast

Ally Sheedy	...	Jessie Montgomery
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Stella Winston
Michael Ontkean	...	Nick McGuire
Valerie Perrine	...	Georgette Starkey
Dick Shawn	...	Stan Starkey
Tom Skerritt	...	Charles Montgomery
Merry Clayton	...	Audrey James
Begonya Plaza	...	Maria (as Begoña Plaza)
Rain Phoenix	...	Brie Starkey (as Rainbow Phoenix)
Leland Crooke	...	Dude
Teddy Wilson	...	Woodrow
Perla Walter	...	Trini
Rita Gomez	...	Juanita
Jason Beghe	...	Bret
Kimberly Beck	...	Kim

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Vista Organization

Trivia:

The band at the party, the Loaded Blanks, are actually the hard rock band Great White.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When talking to Mr. Starkey during the Starlight Foundation dinner, Alicia, a vegetarian, was upset because the scheduled band threw raw meat at the audience. Later she is seen taking shrimp or caviar from Jessie.

Quotes:

Jessie Montgomery: Please let me take it in Maria. Please!
Maria: She told me to take it in.
Jessie Montgomery: Well what difference does it make?
Maria: The difference is if you screw up, then my ass is grass and she's the lawnmower!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Step by Step: Maid to Order (#5.5)" (1995)

Cinderella in reverse -- a sweet romantic comedy with lots of heart.

Good movies just really are few and far between, and Maid to Order is one of the good ones -- although I wouldn't say it was funny ha-ha. It's one of those dreaded "romantic comedies" that male critics love to hate (including Janet Matlin, who tries to be more macho than her male counterparts). It's a "feel good" movie with a message, but it does make you feel good and its message is a good one. It is sweet and harmless and it has become one of my favorites -- there's just something very appealing about it.

Maid to Order has first-rate production values and a wonderful cast, not the least of whom is the late Dick Shawn, in an over-the-top role of a Hollywood record mogul married to Valerie Perrine. They stand out as not exactly your average married couple. Then again, they may BE average for Malibu.

The leads -- Ally Sheed and Michael Ontkean -- are charming and have a lot of chemistry together. The rest of the cast is equally good. It's not meant to be taken seriously and is perfect for a rainy afternoon.