It Happened One Night and Maid in Manhattan - Essay Example

Even though the films are of the same genre and have similar background themes, the setting and the characters are distinct and have unique personalities. 

Compare and Contrast Theme The films ‘It Happened One Night’ (1934) and ‘Maid in Manhattan (2002) have similar background themes where a wealthy person falls in love with a ‘commoner.’ The love interest gets the wealthy characters (Ellie and Chris) distracted from the goals they had set to achieve. For example, in the movie ‘It Happened One Night,’ the female character Ellie runs away from her wealthy father to get married to a man of her choice. However, when she meets Peter and gets to know him during their travel to New York, she falls in love with him and gets distracted from the goal for which she had run away from her father. Similarly, in the film ‘Maid in Manhattan,’ Christopher Marshall who is a senatorial candidate, gets distracted from his goal of focusing on his campaign when he falls in love with a maid working in a classy hotel in which he stays.

However, the contrast in the theme is that when Ellie confesses her love for Peter, he agrees that he is also in love with her. However, the character of Marissa, who is a maid, tries to avoid Christopher when she realizes that he is romantically interested in her. The other difference in the themes of the films is the truth about the characters who are ‘commoners’. In the movie ‘It Happened One Night,’ Peter discloses his real self to Ellie right from the beginning, and that too, with certain flamboyance and charm. On the other hand, Chris misunderstands Marissa as a socialite guest at the hotel, and considers her as a wealthy woman and not a ‘commoner’. Hence, when Chris falls in love with Marissa, he is not aware of her true identity as a maid. In this way, even though the basic themes of the films are similar, the shades of the characters are different. Characters The basis of the romantic comedies ‘It Happened One Night’ and ‘Maid in Manhattan’ is that a wealthy person falls in love with a ‘common’ person. However, the difference in the theme lies in the gender of the wealthy character. For example, in the film ‘It Happened One Night,’ it is the female character who is wealthy and belongs to a well-known family. In the film ‘Maid in Manhattan,’ it is the male character that is wealthy and a well-known social figure.

Also, the characters of Ellie and Christopher are quite different from each other. For example, Ellie is a pampered and spoilt daughter of a wealthy man. On the other hand, Christopher is a mature, balanced, and humble man despite of being wealthy and socially well-known. Also, there is a strong contrast between the characters of Peter and Marissa, who are shown as ‘commoners’ because of their average social status and doing ‘average’ jobs. While Peter is a smart, flamboyant, and smooth conversationalist, Marissa is subdued, hesitant, and timid. The other difference is the marital status of the characters. While Peter is single, Marissa is separated and has a son. In this way, even though the social and professional status of Peter and Marissa are the same, their nature and personalities are quite a contrast. 

Conclusion The discussion above shows that even though the basic themes of the romantic comedies ‘It Happened One Night’ and ‘Maid in Manhattan’ are similar, the characters and their personalities are quite different. Hence, it is the interesting shades of the characters that make these two movies interesting to watch and memorable.     Read More