Movie Review: MONTE CARLO and A Minty Lemon-Cooler

Let me tell you this.

I can not. Lie. To. Save. My. Life.

If your life depends on it, don’t ask me to save your tail. My face will turn red, my mouth will dry up, and my eyes will betray me, resulting in the betrayal of you, no matter how much you make my heart go pitter patter.

I’m just not built to have a poker face.

Consequently, I’m not even built to watch those with a poker face. Lying just makes me very uncomfortable indeed.

Lying to people who deserve to be lied to. I’m uncomfortable.
Lying to get the salesman off my phone. I’m uncomfortable.
Lying to my mother, who is looking me dead in the eye. Never gonna happen.

So asking me to sit through a movie (MONTE CARLO), where the main character, Grace (Selena Gomez), lies so that she can impersonate a princess, made me mildly nauseous, in a good way.


Grace, a recent high school grad, leaves her Texas hometown to go on the trip of a lifetime with her best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) and her killjoy stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester).

The trip to Paris, not so coincidentally, turns into a bit of a farce, as everything and anything goes wrong. When the trio is finally at their wits end, in walks Cordelia (Selena Gomez), a spoiled rotten high society princess, and guess what! She looks just like Grace (Selena Gomez), and the threesome devise a plan to borrow the princess’ life, for just 5 days.

I want to throw up just thinking about. Again, in a good way.

WHY in the world would THEY think they could get away with such an advantageous scheme, when they are impersonating someone who is FAMOUS??????
Especially when, they basically hijack the said princess’ plane, while thumbing through magazines with the Heiress’ picture in it, all the while commenting rather loudly, ON HER PLANE in front of HER PILOTS and FLIGHT CREW, that they are not HER (the princess) and they are currently committing a crime.

I just don’t get it.
But it sure does make for some really interesting movie fun.

Though Selena Gomez’s accent is mediocre at best, and she slips in and out of it while in character, I was still enchanted by her on screen presence. That girl is so darn cute, that it wasn’t a problem for me. Coupled with the beautiful landscape of Monte Carlo, and the underlying triple love story that was developing in each of the girls’ lives, the movie was surprisingly entertaining for an older audience.

My 10 year old rather enjoyed the movie.
My 7 year old, could have taken or left it.
I had a good time, and would watch it again.

In a word, I’d say MONTE CARLO was The Great Muppet Caper meets Wizards of Waverly Place for Older Kids/Young Adults. Or Thirty-something’s’ who like teeny bopper movies.

– – – – X – – – – – – –

Now, I promised Lemonade, no? Oui? Yes, no, maybe so.

Sorry. Sometimes I just have so much fun talking to you:

Any who, in the movie the girls are on the beach sipping on the most luscious looking Lemonades.
And it’s summer. And I’m chronically thirsty.

So for about 10 minutes during the movie, all I could see were lemons, and mint, and an ice cold glass with water beads all over it.

So I decided to make this for you, and me, so that we could sip on it and pretend we were in MONTE CARLO too.

I hope you like it. And I hope you don’t tell any lies today.
But if you do, don’t tell me, because my face will rat you out.

Minty-Lemon Cooler
Serves 2 large drinks

Ingredients:
30 mint leaves
3 cups distilled water
2 lemons, juiced (about 4 TB lemon juice)
4 TB Sugar

Directions:
1.Wash leaves.
2. Place leaves in blender with ½ cup of water. Blend well. Strain (or don’t, if you like the green).
3. Add remaining water, lemon juice, and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Serve in a tall glass over ice.

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