Leighton Meester Hits the Charm Jackpot in Monte Carlo

As in Country Strong, Meester’s crack timing and irresistible poignancy illuminate a part that would leave other actresses simpering themselves off the screen.

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‘Monte Carlo’ an enchanting place for Gomez and pals

I’m afraid some girls will leave persuaded that Gomez just has really cool babysitters.

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Selena Gomez-led trio make the trip worth it in 'Monte Carlo'

"Monte Carlo" is nothing much, but it leaves your soul un-crushed, and this week, especially, it's cause for a celebration-ette.

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Teen girls on a European adventure

The actresses are appealing, the settings photogenic (Budapest doubles for Monte Carlo), and the clothes ideal for a triple-Cinderella fantasy. It's not art, but it is entertaining.

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Wholesome entertainment for pre-teens

Also, if you are a 12-year-old girl, you are the perfect audience for "Monte Carlo."

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This light comedy is being marketed to teenage girls, but it's comparable to Woody Allen's recent European-set features Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris.

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Nonetheless, if the scenic Paris and Monaco locations can't fully remedy Monte Carlo's lethargy

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Nothing royal in this flush

For a movie called "Monte Carlo," this one keeps the stakes pretty low.

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It's all very silly and contrived, but it's also airy and agreeably laid-back, not unlike a decent vacation.

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It’s clear how things will end, but that doesn’t change the fact that starry-eyed girls and rabid fans of Gomez will probably go gaga for the movie.

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Monte Carlo is all about déjà vu, cobbling together elements from so many other sources it feels like movie stew.

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"Monte Carlo" is a harmless, innocuous tween fantasy that seems constructed out of bits and pieces of movies that we must surely have seen before, but can't quite place because there's nothing much to remember.

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If there is a saving grace to "Monte Carlo," it's that the frothy film strikes a nice balance between the ridiculous and the, well, slightly less ridiculous.

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On the surface Monte Carlo is charming, oddly down-home wish-fulfillment, but it's riddled with unexplored class issues and generic filmmaking.

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Cinderella Goes to Europe, and Cute Meets Culture

The gal-pal comedy “Monte Carlo” comes with a bewildering PG rating for “brief mild language” (so brief I missed the offending words), when it really should have earned a Gee.

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Girls just wanna have fun in this tweener variation on The Prince and the Pauper

Still, the movie isn’t without its charms, with several supporting characters—a hotel-desk clerk, a French police chief—adding a touch of Pink Panther–esque humor to the mix.

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A less-than-bubbly teen comic romp aimed at little princesses.

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Best-known (though she won’t like hearing it) as Justin Bieber’s girlfriend, Selena Gomez is a busy girl: Wikipedia describes her as a singer, businesswoman and philanthropist, who’s all over the television and features here in her second film.

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But this script, this leaden direction ensures that even as the teen wish-fulfillment fantasy, complete with young women playing dress-up, “Monte Carlo” fails.

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Yet the biggest of many problems with Monte Carlo is that the fantasy cannot possibly be enjoyed for a second, because the deception looms so large.

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a squeaky-clean comedy of errors for the teen set

Monte Carlo strives to be Eat, Pray, Love for the Twilight generation.

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