Review: 'The Girl From Monaco'

A Parisian lawyer on a big case in Monaco falls for a seductive weather girl and soon finds his button-down life unraveling in this light romantic comedy.

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Film critic Peter Rainer says there's only two reasons to see 'The Girl from Monaco,' but you have to be patient to hear them.

Sometimes a film is best utilized as a travelogue. Such is the case with the comedy-drama "The Girl From Monaco," which isn't much of a movie but offers scrumptious views. Watching this movie makes you feel rich and sun-kissed and slightly decadent.

Fabrice Luchini plays Bertrand, a wealthy Parisian lawyer defending a woman (Stéphane Audran) accused of murdering a Russian in Monaco. Bertrand is a fastidious soul whose orderly routine is interrupted when the woman's son hires a bodyguard, Christophe (Roschdy Zem), to protect him. Stony-faced, all-business Christophe is big on setting up "security perimeters." Neither is a match for Audrey (Louise Bourgoin), a leggy blond TV weather girl who sees Bertrand as her passport to a better life. A better life? You mean, being young and gorgeous in Monte Carlo isn't enough? Grade: C+ (Rated R for some sexual content and language.)

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(Mary Knox Merrill/Staff)
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