Review of Monte Carlo (2011) by Kim B — 07 Apr 2012

This is, obviously, not going to win any awards. I don't even know if it will be remembered two years from now by anyone but the most slavishly devoted Selena Gomez fanatics. But that doesn't mean it's a bad movie.

Yes, the plot is something of an Idiot Plot (not the most egregious of them, but it's still slightly irksome as I am not a twelve-year-old girl), but it does not come off as mean-spirited or tiresome to watch.

This movie has its heart in a good place. In the end, while it boils down to being mostly just pretty to look at (pretty girls, pretty boys, pretty clothes, pretty scenery), it is not offensive to the mind.

Which, if you look at many of the other movies targeted at the twelve-year-old girl audience, is a pretty good thing. The cast does a pretty good job with what they're given to work with (Selena Gomez's British accent is pretty lame though), and although I think it's extremely unlikely that she would be friends with Katie Cassidy, who is a fair bit older, their friendship is interesting because it's somewhat "different.

" All in all, it's light, fluffy, and sugary. Like a souffle, although probably less fattening to consume.