A 1987 American comedy/fantasy directed by Amy Holden Jones. Spoiled Beverly Hills-raised Jessie Montgomery (Ally Sheedy) is stripped of her wealth and identity by Fairy Godmother Stella (Beverly D'Angelo) and forced to work as a maid for wealthy social climbers Stan and Georgette Starkey (Dick Shawn and Valerie Perrine) and their daughter, Brie (Rain Phoenix).
The movie also stars Michael Ontkean, Katey Sagal, Victoria Catlin, Tom Skerritt, Jason Beghe, Merry Clayton, and Theodore Wilson.
It was released on July 10, 1987.
Unrelated to Maid To Order 1931.
Tropes for the film:
- Defeat Means Menial Labor: When Jessie is arrested for drunk driving and possession of drugs, Charles, her long-suffering father, wishes he'd never had a daughter. Stella grants his wish, causing him to forget her. Jessie is forced to take a job as a maid to survive.
- Give Me Back My Wallet: In the first scene with Jessie's father, she slyly takes his wallet, but he catches her in the act and immediately grabs it back.Jessie: But, Dad, please! I'm zeroed out.
Charles: I gave you $200.00.
Jessie: Well, it's ancient history!
Charles: I believe it was lunch time. - I Can Explain: Jessie, when her father finds the receipt for the Shockingly Expensive Bill she ran up while taking a bunch of people clubbing.Charles: $908.00?
Jessie: I can explain it.
Charles: All right, go ahead.
Jessie: Daddy, there were ten poor people. I met them in the street. I took them dancing.
Charles: [shakes his head] Why? I thought, if I gave you everything you wanted, it might make up for your mother's death. But I succeeded in spoiling you. - Meaningful Name: Jessie's father looks up at the stars while wishing that he'd never had a daughter. His wish is granted by Stella, whose name means "star."
- Missing Mom: Jessie's mother is stated to have died some time before the film begins.
- Modesty Towel: Suvberted. Jessie swims in a pool only to discover that Nick was already Skinny Dipping in the pool, and they both have a Naked Freak-Out. Trying to be respectful, he gets out and passes her a towel and turns away. When he turns back, she has wrapped a towel around her hair and is walking away otherwise nude back to the house.
- Precision F-Strike:Stan Starkey: I don't want you walking on me with those fuck-you shoes.
- Rags to Royalty: The movie offers a modern King Thrushbeard in the story of a wild spendthrift heiress who is magically banished into the working class to learn humility, compassion, and the value of a buck, thanks to her Fairy Godmother.Jessie: Some fairy godmother you are! I thought you guys were supposed to turn maids into princesses, and shit like that.
Stella: Some maids deserve to be princesses. Some princesses deserve to be maids. - Riches to Rags: The film explores this with the spoiled rich girl Jessie stripped of her wealth and identity by Stella and forced to work as a maid in a rich household to learn the value of hard work.
- Sudden Humility: Jessie gets a fairy godmother who yanks her wealth away, forcing her to get a job as a maid, so she can see what kind of abuse "the help" goes through.
- Unperson: Jessie is magically erased out of her father's life so that he has no memory of her. That memory is restored once Jessie learns her lesson.
