Best Movie reviews: Movie Review: The Girl From Monaco

Movie Review: The Girl From Monaco - VideoHound Blogs - VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever @import "/files/css/9197d6f2ad0604dab9242ff0136bc6fe.css"; @import "/sites/all/themes/videohound/css/style.css"; Home

Join Now Already a member? Log-In

Home > Blog > Movie Reviews > Movie Review: The Girl From MonacoFollow Us:

Blogs Home Hound News Awards Watch Features Movie Reviews DVD Reviews Lists Interviews Trailer Watch 100 Greatest Movies Recent Blog Posts 1. Movie Review: Sucker Punch 2. Movie Review: Jane Eyre 3. Movie Review: Paul Videohound Blog Archives March 2011February 2011January 2011December 2010November 2010View more >>October 2010September 2010August 2010July 2010June 2010May 2010April 2010March 2010February 2010January 2010December 2009November 2009October 2009September 2009August 2009July 2009June 2009May 2009April 2009March 2009February 2009January 2009December 2008November 2008October 2008September 2008August 2008July 2008June 2008May 2008April 2008January 2008December 2007

Del.icio.us

Digg it

Movie Reviews

July 3, 2009Movie Review: The Girl From MonacoPosted by Turk182 in Movie Reviews

Anne Fontaine's The Girl From Monaco is a lovely piece of fluff, a clever and sexy comedy that plays like a summer day in the south of France – lovely and enjoyable while you’re in the moment but ultimately somewhat forgettable. Monaco is the kind of lighthearted farce that art house audiences have come to expect from the phrase "French comedy" and it's mostly delightful with only a dark turn in the final act that doesn't quite fit with the rest of the piece and a bit too little weight to the entire proceeding. But the three principal players are excellent and the film has a breezy, sexy tone that's a lot harder to pull off than it looks. Well maybe not in France.

The three players are a middle-aged attorney, his square-jawed bodyguard, and, well, a seductress. The attorney is Bertrand Beauvois (Fabrice Luchini), an average nice guy in his mid-fifties who has been tasked with defending Edith Lasalle (Stephane Audran) against accusations of the murder of a Russian. Naturally, when murdered Russians come into play, protection becomes a concern and Lasalle's son (Gilles Cohen) hires a bodyguard named Christophe Abadi (Roschdy Zem) to make sure the good lawyer survives long enough to do his job. Bertrand can't even believe he needs a bodyguard and laughs at the very procedural Abadi's techniques, including establishing a security perimeter around every room he enters. The early act in which this odd couple is defined features some clever laugh-out-loud material.

The odd couple develops a friendship that's tested when the gorgeous weathergirl in town Audrey Varela (Louise Bourgoin) develops an interest in Bertrand in the second, sexier act of the film. Could this vivacious, daring, unbelievably hot young woman be falling for the fiftysomething lawyer? Or is there some other form of distraction going on here? What better weapon to send against your competing attorney than a sex bomb? Christophe immediately senses that something is wrong but Bertrand doesn't believe it. How does the bodyguard protect his client from a fate he kind of wants to embrace with open … something?

The sexy young thing and the older gentleman is a story that has been told several times before – and often by the French – but the dynamic at play with the bodyguard makes this a more interesting film than many of its threesome peers. And all three of the players are excellent, bringing something unique to this light-hearted farce. Luchini’s timing is well-known by now but Bourgoin really stuns in her film debut. Of course, the film requires a lot of suspension of disbelief and I wish a few of the more prominent relationships had a bit more dramatic weight and an emotional undercurrent or two, but The Girl From Monaco is not that kind of film.

Ultimately, The Girl From Monaco isn't the most memorable French film of even the season, much less the year, but the light tone of the piece makes for a pleasant, sun-kissed diversion. With gorgeous backgrounds and nicely underplayed characters, The Girl From Monaco should satisfy any summer moviegoer looking for a European alternative to the American product crowding the marketplace.

Rating: THREE BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: July 3rd, 2009
Rating: R

Starring: Fabrice Luchini, Roschdy Zem, and Louise Bourgoin
Director: Anne Fontaine
Writer: Anne FontaineBookmark/Search this post with: Delicious

Posted by Turk182 in Movie Reviews - July 3, 2009 at 12:07 AM

Write a comment. Be the first to comment on this blog. Tell a Friend about MovieRetriever.com Email your friends, Invite them to join the MovieRetriever.com community to create and share movie lists and review them.