Maid to Order (1987)

Written by Amy Jones, Perry Howze and Randy Howze, Directed by Amy Jones Starring: Ally Sheedy, Michael Ontkean, Valerie Perrine, Dick Shawn, Beverly D`Angelo, Tom Skerrit, Rainbow Phoenix (?)

Ally is a poor little rich girl who can`t live within her very generous allowance. Even her indulgent father Tom and flattering friends are weary of her lack of discipline. After she is arrested for DWI while partying on the town, her dad wishes he`d never had a daughter.

Call in the Angels! Ally gets out of trouble, but because of her father`s wish, she must now live with no identity, no money and no connections, relying only on her own meager talents. The only choice she has is to become a maid-she certainly knows what`s expected in this line of work, but will now take orders instead of giving them, hence the bad pun which gives this film its title!

She goes to work for a crass white couple, who treat their mostly African-American and Hispanic staff badly, and who are now proud to have a white maid as a status symbol (did YMP mention that they were crass?). However, our princess is taken in by her new family of co-workers, who teach her the ropes of surviving and thriving on a domestic`s wages, etc. Ally soon comes to see her employers as the living embodiment of all of her own worst features and comes to regret her former selfishness.

When she truly feels humbled and begins to take her partners` dreams as seriously as her own desires, the Angel comes and restores her to her former identity, but not before our newly-crowned princess declares her love for the modest chauffer/mechanic Michael and takes him with her back to Daddy`s house, where they will begin an honest, hardworking life together.

Trivia: cameo by Katy Sagall from Married With Children

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