Maid to Order (1987)

A spoiled rich girl is visited by her fairy godmother and turned into a maid.

Director:

Amy Holden Jones (as Amy Jones)

Writers:

Amy Holden Jones (as Amy Jones), Perry Howze

Stars:

Ally Sheedy, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael Ontkean

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Theodore Wilson)
Perla Walter	...	Trini
Rita Gomez	...	Juanita
Jason Beghe	...	Bret
Kimberly Beck	...	Kim

Storyline

Spoiled Jessie Montgomery, whose wild behavior and spending excesses cause her well-meaning but exasperated millionaire father Charles to wish he never had her, is visited by fairy godmother Stella. In an effort to save Jessie, Stella casts a spell which causes Charles to no longer have a daughter. Jessie, now penniless and without a friend, must take a maid's job to earn a living, and hopefully to learn her lesson...

---

Plot Keywords:

woman wears a gas mask | maid | fairy godmother | couple | wish | 

---

Taglines:

Worse help is hard to find.

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Comedy

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

---

Goofs

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

Georgette Starkey: [Early morning; Jessie is preparing to mop the Starkeys' floor] Jessie...! I like to get this floor *really* shiny. So, in order to get it *completely* clean, it becomes necessary to get down on your hands and knees - and to scrub every little square inch by hand. No mop... Questions?
Jessie Montgomery: Yeah. When's lunch?
Georgette Starkey: For the help? There *is* no lunch, until and unless the work is done.
Jessie Montgomery: [DELETED LINE - hours later, almost noon. Jessie is nearly finished scrubbing the floor by hand; it looks terrific] ... Okay, ...
[...]

---

Connections

Version of CBS Storybreak: Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China (1985)

---

Soundtracks

It's In His Kiss
Performed by Merry Clayton
Music and Lyrics by Rudy Clark
Produced by Curtis Amy

User Reviews

"Some maids deserve to be Princesses..."

"...and some princesses deserve to be maids."

That pretty much sums up the story behind 1987's 'Maid to Order'. Jessie Montgomery is a 20-something spoiled rich girl, the only child of her widowed father (Tom Skerritt). Jessie is an irresponsible brat who lands herself in jail one night for reckless driving and drug possession, and her frustrated father wishes on a star that he had never had a daughter (which, in retrospect, seems pretty harsh). Somewhere, someone of great power is listening, and his wish is granted. Jessie wakes up the next morning to find her record has been wiped clean. Unfortunately, so has her life.

Jessie is recognized by nobody; not even her own father. Her only companions now is a filthy party dress and a lady (Beverly D'Angelo) who calls herself Jessie's fairy godmother- she's actually the "witch" who granted Jessie's father's wish. Jessie is forced to take a job as a maid for a high-profile Beverly Hills music promoter and his wife (the late Dick Shawn and Valerie Perrine) and has to learn to love and respect people, as well as herself, all over again.

I love Ally Sheedy in this role. She plays the part of the wealthy b*tch very well. You cannot help but feel sorry for her poor, soft-spoken father. But the real stars are the goofy Starkys, the rich and cheesy family Jessie works for.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

31 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maid to Order

Filming Locations:

32596 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,162,491, 2 August 1987

Gross USA:

$9,868,521

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,868,521

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mort Engelberg Productions, Vista Organization

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1