NYC Single Mom

Selena Gomez Stars in Monte Carlo Review

by Filed Under: Entertainment, Movies

Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy and Cory Monteith star in “Monte Carlo, a colorful rollicking romp that will bring a smile to your face”.

Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez movies, new york city single mom, nYC single mom

Monte Carlo Synopsis
Grace (Selena Gomez) is an ordinary girl who becomes an accidental princess when a family summer trip to Paris turns into the fantasy of a lifetime. Living like royalty, Grace, along with her two best friends, discovers who she really is – by assuming another person’s identity.

Freshly minted high school grad Grace (Selena Gomez) and best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) are jettisoning their waitress jobs in Texas for a trip to Paris. But Grace’s killjoy stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester) is involuntarily installed as chaperone by Grace’s mother (Andie MacDowell) and soon-to-be stepfather (Brett Cullen). Meanwhile, Emma’s boyfriend, Owen (Cory Monteith), is trying to put the kibosh on the trip altogether with a ring and proposal.

What liked about Monte Carlo:

  • The three lead actresses – Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy were perfectly cast.
    • Selena Gomez lends her considerable every teen girl charm in the role of Grace, a role that fits her to a tee. Ms. Gomez shows considerable range playing herself ( not hard to do), British socialite Cordelia Winthrop Scott in all her bitch, snooty, upper crust delicious  English way and Grace imitating Cordelia.
    • Leighton Meester was surprising in that she can not only do comedy but play a sympathetic character, a long way from Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. She can also do the  plain Jane girl which goes to show you how pretty she is, given that her character was literally wearing very little make-up throughout the movie and always looked fantastic.
    • Katie Cassidy was on the money playing a hick, I am from a small town Texas but have big dreams role. I just loved her outsized personality.
  • Identifiable situations
    • Going to Europe, especially Paris is a rite of passage for high school or college graduates. It certainly was for me. I loved that the producers totally got the scenes correct when they showed the hotel rooms as being tiny and just plain pathetic. Anyone who has traveled to Europe knows that even if you spend $400 a night for a hotel room, it doesn’t even come to close to gettin you the same size room at a Holiday Inn.
    • The hopes and dreams of every young person who dreams of something bigger and wanting to leave their high school past behind. Not everyone can be the most popular kid and showing that Grace was not popular but knew that she had to leave will resonate with young teens.
  • Showing that blended families takes work and because the parents have found each other doesn’t mean the kids always get along.
  • The Locations as a character – I loved that the scenes went from drab Texas to vibrant, “I am here in Paris” to the over the top almost cartoonish colors of Monte Carlo. Whether kids know it or not, the movie provides the promise of something beyond their own world and hopefully opens their mind to the possibility of visting another country.

What I did not like about Monte Carlo:

  • Selena Gomez  accent weaving in and out throughout the movie – I give her kudos for stretching her self but  it was just too distracting but I am sure that the target demographic won’t notice.
  • The implausibility of some scenes – I am giving this away but how does a character who expresses no interest in leaving Texas all of sudden have a passport and money to book a flight to Paris.
  • The Second half of the movie – Just a tad too predictable although you could say  the first half of the movie is predictable.

Recommendation:
Tween/Teen girls will love the movie because of the likability of the characters. I am sure that they will see themselves in one of the main characters.   I am sure that many teenagers will think about going to Paris and Monte Carlo and I hope they do. The movie is just plain fun and will be a classic and I would recommend it even for girls as young as eight. There was a few chaste kisses but nothing that would warrant and OMG.

 


 

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