Taglines: She’s having the time of someone else’s life.
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. Grace and Emma, however, will not be deterred from crème brulee by the Seine, and soon enough, the two friends, with Megan in tow, arrive in France. Ah, Paris… the lights… the boulevards…the…
Sorry, no time for that! Scurried past famed landmarks by a hyperactive tour guide, and discouraged by their “luxury” accommodations and frequent tiffs, the trio’s spirits sag like the behinds of knit-panted American tourists.
Fortunes change, however, when Grace is mistaken for British socialite Cordelia Winthrop Scott. When the girls inadvertently take possession of Cordelia’s invitation to a ritzy charity ball in Monte Carlo, they seize the moment, indeed, the entire week, by ditching their hopeless packaged tour, and heading south.
With carte blanche to the socialite’s grand suite, clothing and accessories (including a $4 million necklace), they embark on a romantic adventure of yacht parties, polo matches and highly eligible bachelors. But when the necklace goes missing and the real Cordelia unexpectedly arrives, Grace, Emma and Meg have to rely on all their southern charm, wit and bravado to keep their sugarcoated vacation from turning into a full Monte meltdown.
About the Production
The packaged Paris tour that Grace diligently booked begins with dampened expectations, and soon hits rock bottom. But a change is about to blow through in the unlikely form of spoiled British socialite Cordelia Winthrop Scott. After watching Cordelia throw a small tantrum in a grand hotel, where they’ve ducked in out of the rain, the girls are stunned to notice that Grace is a dead ringer for the bratty heiress.
With some encouragement (make that insistence) from Emma, Grace decides to attempt to pull off a brazen masquerade. Her spot-on impersonation of Cordelia lands them in Monte Carlo, where ensconced in the luxurious Hotel de Paris, the girls start living large. Really large. Monte Carlo large.
It has long been a rite of passage for countless young Americans to celebrate graduation (or almost graduation, in Emma’s case) with a trip to Europe. The grand architecture, sophisticated culture and rich history serve as a virtual finishing school for young people preparing to step into the larger shoes of adulthood. Add to that the allure of romance and glorious adventure and, well, start packing your bags!
For Grace Bennett (Selena Gomez), who always feels like a bit of a square peg in a round hole, Europe represents an opportunity to find all of the above – and herself as well. “Grace is a down-to-earth girl who loves her mother and friends, but at the same time, she’s always felt that her destiny lies beyond her small Texas town,” says Selena Gomez. “She wants the promise of something bigger and better, and places a lot of hope, probably too much, that a trip to Europe will open doors to her life.”
Grace’s friend Emma, meanwhile, has a devoted boyfriend Owen (Monteith), who’s keen to marry and settle down to a quiet life. Emma loves the simple, kind-hearted and decent Owen, but is curious if perhaps a dash of exotic European romance may be more to her taste. There are a lot of fish in the sea – why settle for the first one on the hook? “Emma sees her trip with Grace as a fairy tale – they’ll go to Paris, meet handsome gentlemen, and have amazing experiences,” describes Katie Cassidy. “Emma is the one always pushing things forward, eager to take chances and bend the rules.”
Both girls see the presence of Meg (Meester) as an unwelcome intrusion – a fly in their sparkling glass of bubbly. Simply put, she’s never been known as the life of the party. “Meg recently lost her mother, and is still a bit traumatized over it. She’s somewhat excited to visit France, but not under these circumstances, and certainly not with these two girls,” explains Leighton Meester. “A bit closed off emotionally, she sees herself as being much more learned and mature than Grace and Emma.” Adds Selena: “Meg is very close to her father, and doesn’t want him to remarry. So she resents Grace’s mother, which means she resents Grace. Meg and Grace definitely butt heads in the beginning. But as the story unfolds there’s a wonderful arc between the two of them.”
With Meg in tow, the packaged Paris tour that Grace diligently booked begins with dampened expectations, and soon hits rock bottom. A cramped and dingy hotel room, drill sergeant tour guide and lousy weather prompt Meg to compare the trip to a particular part of their anatomy. Grace, feeling even more like a misfit than she did in Texas, dejectedly confesses, “I’m sorry I ever thought that things would be different for me in Paris.”
But an opportunistic wind of change is about to blow through in the unlikely form of spoiled British socialite Cordelia Winthrop Scott. After watching Cordelia throw a small tantrum in a grand hotel, where they’ve ducked in out of the rain, the girls are stunned to notice that Grace is a dead ringer for the bratty heiress.
With some encouragement (make that insistence) from Emma, Grace decides to attempt to pull off a brazen masquerade. Her spot-on impersonation of Cordelia lands them in Monte Carlo, where ensconced in the luxurious Hotel de Paris, the girls start living large. Really large. Monte Carlo large.
“This story is set up as a bit of a Wizard of Oz fable,” explains director and co-screenwriter Thomas Bezucha. “The girls are from a remote landlocked place, as was Dorothy Gale, and they journey to Monte Carlo, which is Emerald City. We’re doing a storybook version of France – it looks like a giant Easter basket, colorful and coated with sugar.”
Noting that the film has overtones of How to Marry a Millionaire and Roman Holiday, producer Denise Di Novi states, “Paris is such a romantic city, idealized by many young American women. For Grace, Emma and Meg, the Paris of their dreams isn’t panning out. It’s not unusual for a young person’s idealized expectations in life – be it for travel, dating or jobs – to be unmet by reality. However, our girls have a chance to change their luck, and they take it. All the way to the south of France.
Monte Carlo
Directed by: Thomas Bezucha
Starring: Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, Cory Monteith, Andie MacDowell, Valérie Lemercier, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes, Attila Árpa
Screenplay by: Thomas Bezucha, April Blair, Maria Maggenti
Production Design by: Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski
Cinematography by: Jonathan Brown
Film Editing by: Jeffrey Ford
Costume Design by: Shay Cunliffe
Set Decoration by: Véronique Melery
Art Direction by: Ray Chan, Mónika Esztán
Music by: Michael Giacchino
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild language.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: July 1, 2011
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