Parents' Guide to

Monte Carlo

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Silly but sweet travel comedy says to be true to yourself.

Movie PG 2011 108 minutes
Monte Carlo Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 10 parent reviews

Crescent
Crescent Adult
May 20, 2012
age 18+

Not what I expected

We try to teach our kids not to lie, but then someone makes a movie with their fave actress/actor deceiving others. For a kid that watched Selena Gomez on the Disney Channel before this movie, I'd say this is a huge leap. It's very upsetting that in most of these "chick flick lite" movies, the women are stumbling upon strange men to fall in love. When our kids see this, they in return begin to lower their guard around strangers. This is very dangerous. I, also, found the clothing of these girls to be too promiscuous sometimes, especially from the co-stars. Movies ( even those supposedly for youngsters) are just getting more profane and provocative. Younger people are still learning what right/wrong is. When we give them a right thing in a wrong way, they absorb it all. They need extra help along the way. And that clock cannot be turned back. With all the adult situations and partying, your kids are better off playing outside and enjoying what innocence and happiness they still have left.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
dvdgirl
dvdgirl Adult
October 13, 2018
age 7+

fine i would have to watch it again.

it was alright. cute to.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Grace (Selena Gomez) has been saving for a post-graduation trip to Paris all through high school. But when the moment arrives to take off with her older best friend, Emma (Katie Cassidy), Grace's parents announce that her estranged step-sister, Meg (Leighton Meester), must join the duo on their vacation. When their over-scheduled tour group leaves the trio behind, the rain-soaked girls seek temporary refuge in a luxury hotel's loo. They overhear a caustic young British heiress named Cordelia Winthrop Scott (also Gomez) talk about jetting off to Spain instead of attending a charity event. After the hotel staff mistakes Grace for Cordelia, the American girls find themselves on an all-expenses-paid trip to Monaco. Once they arrive, Grace-as-Cordelia meets Theo (Pierre Boulanger), the handsome heir of a philanthropic family who's in charge of escorting her around MONTE CARLO.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10):
Kids say (45):

This is one of those sugary sweet cinematic trifles that could be shown on television without any major edits. There's no overt sexuality, language, or violence -- just three young women getting to play dress up in the fabulously wealthy principality of Monaco. The dramatic tension is more about self-reflection than any external force; once you believe that Grace could impersonate Cordelia in this age of heightened security, it's easy to trust that the trio won't fall into the hands of the police, so you can just sit back and enjoy their sight-seeing and fashion displays.

Emma needs to see that money won't bring happiness -- and that her steadfast fiance, Owen (Glee star Cory Monteith), will. Meg just has to take some risks and have some fun, which involves going on an epic date with Riley (Luke Bracey), a hunky Aussie with wanderlust. And, of course, Grace needs to confess to Theo that he's smitten with a "regular American girl," not an aristocratic Brit. It's all predictably uplifting and sweet and will make young girls across America want to visit the City of Lights in hopes of their own romantic, life-affirming adventures.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the appeal of mistaken-identity/character-swapping movies. Do we all sometimes wish we could pretend to be someone else? Why? What makes someone else's life seem more desirable?

  • Does this movie make you wish you had fancier/more expensive things? Is that the intent? How does media influence what audiences want?

  • Like a modern-day fairy tale, the girls are all given their very own "prince." Was it necessary for each of the characters to have her own romantic storyline? What kind of message does that send to teens, especially girls?

Movie Details

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