For a movie with arguably the same target audience as “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “Monte Carlo” has a surprisingly minimal amount of melodrama.
And, in this case, that is a bad thing. See, if a flick like this cannot even muster enough substance to be taken seriously by anyone other than tweens, it should at least work as an immature soap opera or – even better – a silly, screwball comedy. “Monte Carlo” features momentary qualities of both approaches but commits to neither, resulting in overwhelmingly bland entertainment.
Selena Gomez stars as Grace, a young woman who travels to Paris with her best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) and step-sister Meg (Leighton Meester) as part of a high school graduation celebration. However, as the trio are rushed through the city of lights' landmarks via their seemingly coach-class tour, they get left behind at the Eiffel Tower.
Stumbling out of the rain into a fancy hotel, Emma and Meg discover that Grace shares a striking resemblance to a British heiress named Cordelia Winthrop Scott. After Grace is mistaken as Cordelia and whisked away to Monte Carlo, the three young women decide to let it play out and enjoy the perks of royalty while on vacation.
So, the trio enjoys the high-life, complete with giant lobsters and beautiful balls. However, before they are able to hop on a plane back to America, Cordelia returns and discovers their rouse. Even worse, the young women have become emotionally invested in the experience, finding true love for what appears to be the first time in their lives.
The final 30 minutes of “Monte Carlo” are fairly fun with plenty of close calls and other animated antics but, by then, it is too little too late, so to speak. The rest of the flick comes across as surprisingly dull – especially for a movie that seems so intent on spinning a far-fetched fairy tale. Say what you will but at least you could not call “Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer” boring.
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