'The Girl from Monaco' review

Louise Bourgoin (Credit: Magnolia)

When famous French attorney Bertrand (Fabrice Luchini) takes on a sensational murder case in Monaco, he ends up with two things he didn't bargain for: poker-faced bodyguard Christophe (Roschdy Zem), hired by his client's family, and a whirlwind romance with gorgeous but conniving TV weathergirl Audrey (Louise Bourgoin). Turns out she's got grand designs on Bertrand that are way more than he can handle, and so he enlists his bodyguard to help him find some...options.

The buzz: Although director Anne Fontaine is a familiar fixture at international festivals like Cannes and Venice, her work remains confined to the art-house circuit. That could all change...with the release of her next film: this fall's "Coco Before Chanel" starring Audrey Tautou. Until then, here's a taste of what Fontaine offers.

The verdict: We're calling a cloudy forecast. All told, you never quite buy the characters' drastic behavior—it just doesn't compute, no matter how ingratiating (weather gal), lovelorn (Bertrand) or conflicted (bodyguard) they appear to be. It's a pity because "The Girl From Monaco" starts out promising enough. Bertrand and Christophe initially play like a French-ified Laurel and Hardy—bickering and bonding. (Watch Christophe, in all seriousness, frisk a skimpily dressed Audrey to check for security threats against his client.) Luchini is very likable as the bumbling, charming Bertrand, and he's nicely matched with Zem's hilariously stoic bodyguard. Pit them against the stunning Bourgoin and you have an appealing ménage a trois that brings sunny energy to a movie that ultimately stumbles.

Did you know? Indeed, Bourgoin is perfectly cast: She was a famous weathergirl for France's Canal Plus channel before her acting career took off in 2008.

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