MovieChat Forums > Corrina, Corrina (1994) Discussion > i did like this movie, but...

i did like this movie, but...

posted 18 years ago by ashisthegal
36 replies | jump to latest

don't get me wrong--i always have liked this movie. it is very sweet, and cute.

but one thing that has always bothered me was the ending. when Manny finds out that Corrina has been keeping Molly out of school for all those months (behind his back) and he gets angry--he had every right to be angry with her. he was right. Molly wasn't Corrina's. she had no right to make that decision--and hide it from Manny, no less.

but then at the end, Manny goes back to Corrina's to make amends. he is the one who comes and apoligizes. for what? he had every reason to be upset, and Corrina has this "attitude" about her, like she's the wronged party. she deserved to get bitched out for that, in my opinion! she never apoligized for going behind his back and making decisions regarding his daughter.

granted, maybe Molly wasn't ready for school. thats not really the point. she was wrong, and she should have apoligized, but she doesn't.

anyway. that never rubbed right with me, and i was wondering if anyone else agrees, or what your thoughts are on it.

[–] Amry0217 18 years ago

That's happened to me before, someone jerked me around, and I blew up, (exploded, quick, with no warning) and the way it ended, I apologized to them and they "heard me" when it was they who caused the big blow up in the first place, though this person was just doing what they had a propensity for i.e., were acting like someone died and left them boss and it wasn't deliberate on their part. With Manny & Corrina though, her actions were deliberate, and she knew what she was doing. Thus he had a right to blow up at her, but at the end he said to her, "You're fired Corrina." and "Stay away" or something to that effect, (haven't watched it in a week) lol Someone had to apologize and Corrina couldn't because the way Manny left it, she was fired and stay away, though when he came to her house to apologize, she should have told him she was sorry, she shouldn't have kept the secret from him. But if she had apologized there in the doorway for making the decision, there wouldn't have been that wonderful scene when Manny talked to God and they "made up" outside in front of the neighbors and all creation. Every time I think of that scene, I melt.
She did come out real quick. But, you're right, she never said she was sorry. She should have. That was a powerful scene there out in front of all the neighbors and all creation - would her saying "I'm sorry" have lessened it?. I'm not sure.

I don't remember if she ever did say "I'm sorry" elsewhere in the movie, thus was mentally ABLE to say "I'm sorry." She seemed though the type of personality able to say "I'm sorry." But what do I know, not much.

10/06/06 = She did say "I'm sorry" multiple times when she was knocking vases off the tables.
==============================
He lifts me clear to the sky, you know he taught me to fly.

[–] MsMecca 18 years ago

I agree with you. I would be angry beyond belief. Not only did she take her out of school, but she had her cleaning houses. Not to mention the whole thing about telling Molly about the angels and heaven when Manny told her that he didn't believe in those things and didn't want his daughter getting the wrong idea.

Mecca

[–] sevenof9fl 18 years ago

Just playing "devil's advocate" here - what if she *had* told him either that Molly wasn't ready for school or that she was taking her out of school? Would Manny have been ok with that? I think most likely not. I think she was doing what she felt was right for the child and decided to let the chips fall where they may - no matter what the price. Certainly she knew the ruse would be outed eventually. Molly might not have been in school, but that didn't mean she wasn't learning anything - she did a lot of healing during that time, and I think Corinna knew that Molly needed healing more than she needed school.

I think when you do the right thing, no apology is necessary, especially where a child is concerned. Just my opinion.

Eddie: "You just broke his ankle, Jack!"
Jack: "He shouldn't have been playing with adults." ii.iv

[–] MsMecca 17 years ago

I think even if Corrina believed what she was doing was the right thing, it was still not a choice of hers to make since she was not Molly's mother. If Corrina felt strongly about keeping her out of school, she should have talked to Manny about it and then went forward from there. Corrina could have avoided the anger that resulted in the end.

Corrina may have thought she was doing the right thing, but that comes down to a decision reserved solely for a parent so I think an apology was necessary.

Mecca

[–] sevenof9fl 17 years ago

I guess we'll just have to "agree to disagree" on this one. I had an experience with a similar issue; and many years later the mother of the child involved thanked me for intervening. I never apologized for my actions, and in fact the parent apologized to me for being angry with me over the incident. The parent eventally saw where they had handled the issue badly and I had intervened on behalf of the child and in point of fact prevented a bad scenario from evolving into a worse scenario.

In any event, we're all entitled to our opinions; and as I said I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I just thought that perhaps if I shared my experience you might look at the issue a little differently, is all.

:)

Eddie: "You just broke his ankle, Jack!"
Jack: "He shouldn't have been playing with adults." ii.iv

[–] rosek102 17 years ago

I agree that Corrina should have apologized, and she didn't, but I do understand why Manny felt the need to apologize too. Corrina did so much for both of them--she lifted Molly out of her shock and helped her become her old self again. She helped Manny find love again, and she was always very loving and caring to both of them. He didn't want to disregard all those things just because of one mistake she made, and it's obvious that he loved her, and didn't want their relationship to end because of this.

[–] Cymbeline013 14 years ago

Just playing "devil's advocate" here - what if she *had* told him either that Molly wasn't ready for school or that she was taking her out of school? Would Manny have been ok with that? I think most likely not. I think she was doing what she felt was right for the child and decided to let the chips fall where they may - no matter what the price. Certainly she knew the ruse would be outed eventually. Molly might not have been in school, but that didn't mean she wasn't learning anything - she did a lot of healing during that time, and I think Corinna knew that Molly needed healing more than she needed school.

I think when you do the right thing, no apology is necessary, especially where a child is concerned. Just my opinion.

That's exactly how I felt while watching that scene unfold. I knew that Corrina keeping Molly out of school was going to blow-up in her face; but I also knew that she [Corrina]wasn't doing it on purpose or to get back at Manny. She knew the little girl was having such a hard time adjusting to returning to school without her mom.

Perhaps they should have had Corrina apologize to appease certain critics unwilling to see that scene with the eyes of a child; however I'm glad she didn't. Because by making Corrina apologize, this would give the impression that she deliberately kept Molly out of school just to irk Manny. Corrina loved that little girl enough that she was willing to risk Manny's ire to prove it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwfkfAsvM84&NR=1&feature=fvwp

[–] whitespirit26 8 years ago

"I think when you do the right thing, no apology is necessary, especially where a child is concerned."

Seriously?? Hon, it's not your child, unless there's abuse you don't get to say what's right.

[–] AmyJoLadick 17 years ago

It wasn't about her not having the power to make those decisions therefore she did wrong, it was about Manny needing help, more help and wisdom that a typical nanny could provide. He thought he knew everything and knew how to handle everything but that was getting him nowhere, Corrina knew what was best at the time in a way Manny was too stubborn to realize, and in the end he finally does realize this because Corrina affected Molly more than a typical nanny and same thing with Manny. That's why this movie is called Corrina Corrina not The Nanny.

[–] MusicLovePoetry 16 years ago

agree

[–] mswritesalot 17 years ago

I totally disagree with "granted, maybe Molly wasn't ready for school. that's not the point." That is the WHOLE point behind Corinna keeping the kid out of school -- she was not ready!

My take on it is that Manny realized that Corrina was doing what was best for his child, and that he had reamed her out for it. He was wrong to ream her out, so he apologized. The little girl wasn't ready to go back to school, but Manny was clueless about how deeply affected the little girl was. Had he forced her back to school before she was ready, it could have been really bad for her -- and for their relationship. Putting her back in school would have likely made her feel more isolated and alone, since she would have been surrounded by kids who still had their moms. Corrina understood that the kid needed time to cope and process things.

Manny had the right to be angry, of course, but reaming her out wasn't the appropriate response. Corrina could have, and probably should have told him that she was keeping the child out of school. But there would have been no conflict for the film, and there's no guarantee that he would have realized that letting the child heal and deal with her mother's death was more important than going to school for that period of time. I don't think that Corrina owed Manny an apology, but she at least should have given him an explanation. Ultimately, she was doing what was best for the kid.

Ali

[–] thecolorplum 16 years ago

Thnak you. Finally, someone has said it. If Corrina had made her go to schhol or if she had told Manny, there wouldn't have been no conflict. But you say she should have given him an explaination. remember she tried to, but he was so angry he didn't want to hear her.

[–] tshen6 15 years ago

I agree with Ali on this. Really excellent thoughts on this. :)

[–] roghache 17 years ago

I have to agree that it wasn't Corrina's place to keep Molly out of school without the knowledge and consent of her father. In terms of "intervention", we're not talking about child abuse here. True that perhaps Molly wasn't ready to return to school, but I still would definitely not classify that as "emotional abuse" requiring another adult to intervene and hide such an important matter behind the parent's back. Corrina was out of bounds here.

That being said, I really liked this movie and Corrina's behaviour didn't bother me at the time I watched it. However, now that it's been mentioned, I believe the original poster is correct. It's Corrina that should have apologized, at least to some degree. Manny was a loving father and, while he might have been mistaken with regard to that particular decision, he deserved better treatment from the woman who had come to love him. While it isn't real life behaviour I could support, it's Hollywood drama and I took it as such.

[–] princessd 17 years ago

I don't know; would you apologise for doing something you believe is right? I wouldn't say sorry for helping someone. And in Corrina's case I think that's what she truly believes, even if it wasn't her place.

Secondly, the only dialogue with Manny about it is his screaming at her after he finds out; which is not exactly conducive to an apology from Corrina. Given his harsh words (not altogether justified), it's not exactly easy to reason with and interject a 'by the way I'm sorry' after being fired.

So why does he apologise? Even though he has every reason to be upset for the deception, he realizes he was wrong in both how he handled Molly and how he treated Corrina -- that Corrina's actions though technically wrong, were for Molly's sake. Furthermore he had ignored the problem and hurt Corinna deeply. I disagree that she deserved to be 'bitched at' -- he had a right to be angry, but it's more than that. In his anger she's treated like nothing, which is what she takes issue with. This is what the apology was for. In that way I think Manny's words are a bigger slap in the face than Corrina's actions and why he needed to make amends first.

Granted a 'I'm sorry too' wouldn't have gone astray at the VERY end, but it's peronally moot. I believe he understands why she did it and has no more issue with it, so why should you? It's not your kid either. =P

[–] splendor 17 years ago

I've seen this film many times and I am not sure it was ever established how long the child was out of school. It could have been a week. I think Corrina was wrong for keeping the child out of school but I also see that she was hurt by the fact that because she had made a mistake all of a sudden they just went back to being employer/employee. You fall in love with someone and suddenly you're just an employee because you screwed up.

[–] abajasds 17 years ago

It could of been weeks if it was months then a teacher would of called long before that.And Corrina probably would of been arrested.

However I guess Manny thought that her intentions was good.

But I don't think I would of went back to Corina and say Sorry for yelling at her.

But maybe Manny really was in Love with her and thought that well she was a good person she can't work for me but we can be friends.

[–] HarverLynn 16 years ago

They just previously had a conversation about the last words they'd said to their spouses, and a main reason for him apologizing was the fact that he didn't want his last words to her be as harsh as they were in the event that neither of them spoke to each other again.

[–] MusicLovePoetry 16 years ago

He did not have the right to get that angry. It just made it seem like he was putting himself above her. Plus he would not let her explain.

[–] blackbritishbabe 16 years ago

i think it has to do with the changing dynamic of their realtionship. few days before manny and corrina had been dancing and kissing like they were a couple. then when they have an disagreement, he dismisses her like she was a servant, when clearly their relaitonshiop had moved beyond that. he did owe her a big apology. then there was the fact that he would not let her explain.

i do agree though that corrina should have told him that there was a problem with molly's school attendance, and for that reason she should have apologised too.

aka Triple B and B3

[–] cathleenjt 13 years ago

I agree with your reasoning 100%. Manny had made the first move to dance with Corrina and kiss her. He was aware that their relationship had gone beyond that of employer/employee and that the emotional dynamics between all three of them at that point were more like a family than anything else. And yet when he was angry (justifiably so), his great offense was NOT that he yelled at her or wouldn't listen, but that he fired her as though she were nothing more to him than a servant. Her actions may have constituted a breach of trust, but his constituted a slap in the face.