'Monte Carlo' Movie Review

'Monte Carlo' Shockya Movie Review, Written by: Karen Benardello

Director: Thomas Bezucha

Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy


Some people wait their entire lives to take their dream vacation. Grace, the main character in 20th Century Fox’s new adventure romantic comedy ‘Monte Carlo,’ is one of those people; she’s grows even more excited and anxious to get away from her Texas town to go to Paris as the trip grows near. While the trip doesn’t ultimately go as she expected, Grace proves people can discover a lot about themselves when they learn to make do with the situations that are presented to them.

‘Monte Carlo,’ which is based on the novel Headhunters by Jules Bass, follows Grace (played by Selena Gomez), recent high school graduate, as she and her best friend Emma (portrayed by Katie Cassidy) prepare for their dream vacation to Paris. Grace’s mother (played by Andie MacDowell) persuades Grace to bring her older, uptight stepsister Meg (portrayed by Leighton Meester) to make sure they don’t get into any trouble. However, all three girls are disappointed by the way their vacation turns out until Grace is mistaken for English heiress Cordelia Winthrop Scott (also played by Gomez). Since Cordelia wants to take a few days off from her charity duties, Grace and Emma convince Meg to go along with them to Monte Carlo to fill in for the socialite, so they can all get the vacation they want.

Director Thomas Bezucha made the decision in hiring Gomez for the dual roles of Grace and Cordelia. The former Disney star, whose most well-known acting role is of ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ main character Alex Russo, was able to prove her relatability for her targeted audience, younger girls and teens. Grace wanted to have the most exciting trip possible while in Paris, but soon realizes and isn’t afraid to admit that the tour she picked isn’t the most adventurous. Gomez also shows that Grace is quick to give into her temptation to disguise herself as Cordelia and travel to Monte Carlo.

Even though the romantic comedy is only Gomez’s second main role in a theatrical film, she also charmingly gives Grace a sense of right and wrong. For example, she knows that she can’t continue lying to Theo (portrayed by Pierre Boulanger), who believes he’s working with the real Cordelia in Monte Carlo on building schools across the world. Seeing how devoted he is to helping impoverished children, Grace doesn’t want to keep lying to him about who she really is. Gomez really connects to Grace, and her true charisma shines through.


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