A majority of the comments on here are complaining about how the movie is "dumber than a box of rocks" and stereotypical. Well, I guess the thing that people don't realize is that this is a MARY KATE AND ASHLEY MOVIE. It's sole purpose? To cash in on the whole Mary Kate and Ashley craze. And, well, it fulfills that purpose. Of course, being straight to video and aimed towards loyal fans, the movie has very low production values (they try on clothes OUTSIDE the "store" during the shopping scene and the "museum" they walk through is CGI). But this movie is actually a pretty fun one for the audience it was aiming for. I don't think an intellectual looking for a in-depth review of Paris would particularly enjoy this movie... and it beats me why they'd even pick it up.
This installment in the Mary Kate and Ashley direct-to-video movie series doesn't bring anything really new to the table. But for preteen girls interested in feeling happy, following the girls having fun in an exotic location, and viewing the cute fashions, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Seventh graders Alyson and Melissa had it all. They had the trendiest clothes, the hottest gossip, the cutest boyfriends-- but their parents believed the twins were just too wrapped up in their social life. To get them out of their small world, they decided they'd send them away to stay with their grandfather, the ambassador, in Paris, France for Spring Break. This meant that Ally and Mel weren't going to be able to attend the hottest party of the year with the two hottest boys in school, who happened to like them. Reluctantly, the girls boarded the plane and traveled from Southern California to beautiful Paris.
Their grandpa, much too busy to accompany his granddaughters in seeing France, hired a man named Jeremy to show them around. Grandpa's rules were strict; Ally and Mel were to follow an organized schedule of art museum after art museum, each and every day. The girls quickly grew bored of this, and their focus was further interrupted upon meeting two cute Parisian boys, John and Michel(sp?). They began to sneak off with these boys to see France in the way they wanted to see it: spontaneously and fun. Along the way, they also befriended renowned supermodel, Brigit (why a famous supermodel would spend her time shopping with two 12-year-olds beats me), who distracted Jeremy when they began dating.
One night, the girls returned home from a date with John and Michel in a cop car. The grandfather then forbade them from ever seeing those boys again and they had to attend a fancy dinner instead of a party where John and Michel's band would be playing. He at first seemed firm, but quickly changed his heart once he saw the boys sincerely apologizing at Aly and Mel's window. He saw how much the children truly loved each other. Grandpa apologized to his granddaughters, as he should have been spending time with them himself, but told them they still had to attend the dinner that night.
After a heated and intelligent discussion the girls presented at dinnertime, Grandpa, impressed, allowed the girls to go to their party. The night ended with the twins kissing their respective boyfriends, and Brigit and Jeremy even sharing a kiss.
The next morning, it was time for the girls to return to America. Every person they met on their journey would greatly miss them and await their next visit. The parents plan of culturing their children seemed to be a success, as they soon took up an interest of learning about different cultures and seeing the world. They even declined a fro-yo date with the boys they used to like, after seeing what jerks they were.
In the end, even though not too much learning occurred, Alyson and Melissa got to see what love was really like, and that other cultures can be really cool if you give them a chance. People criticizing this movie for encouraging girls to be shallow apparently missed the point. This trip taught the protagonists to break out of their small circle of gossip and popularity, and see the real wonders of the world.
This installment in the Mary Kate and Ashley direct-to-video movie series doesn't bring anything really new to the table. But for preteen girls interested in feeling happy, following the girls having fun in an exotic location, and viewing the cute fashions, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Seventh graders Alyson and Melissa had it all. They had the trendiest clothes, the hottest gossip, the cutest boyfriends-- but their parents believed the twins were just too wrapped up in their social life. To get them out of their small world, they decided they'd send them away to stay with their grandfather, the ambassador, in Paris, France for Spring Break. This meant that Ally and Mel weren't going to be able to attend the hottest party of the year with the two hottest boys in school, who happened to like them. Reluctantly, the girls boarded the plane and traveled from Southern California to beautiful Paris.
Their grandpa, much too busy to accompany his granddaughters in seeing France, hired a man named Jeremy to show them around. Grandpa's rules were strict; Ally and Mel were to follow an organized schedule of art museum after art museum, each and every day. The girls quickly grew bored of this, and their focus was further interrupted upon meeting two cute Parisian boys, John and Michel(sp?). They began to sneak off with these boys to see France in the way they wanted to see it: spontaneously and fun. Along the way, they also befriended renowned supermodel, Brigit (why a famous supermodel would spend her time shopping with two 12-year-olds beats me), who distracted Jeremy when they began dating.
One night, the girls returned home from a date with John and Michel in a cop car. The grandfather then forbade them from ever seeing those boys again and they had to attend a fancy dinner instead of a party where John and Michel's band would be playing. He at first seemed firm, but quickly changed his heart once he saw the boys sincerely apologizing at Aly and Mel's window. He saw how much the children truly loved each other. Grandpa apologized to his granddaughters, as he should have been spending time with them himself, but told them they still had to attend the dinner that night.
After a heated and intelligent discussion the girls presented at dinnertime, Grandpa, impressed, allowed the girls to go to their party. The night ended with the twins kissing their respective boyfriends, and Brigit and Jeremy even sharing a kiss.
The next morning, it was time for the girls to return to America. Every person they met on their journey would greatly miss them and await their next visit. The parents plan of culturing their children seemed to be a success, as they soon took up an interest of learning about different cultures and seeing the world. They even declined a fro-yo date with the boys they used to like, after seeing what jerks they were.
In the end, even though not too much learning occurred, Alyson and Melissa got to see what love was really like, and that other cultures can be really cool if you give them a chance. People criticizing this movie for encouraging girls to be shallow apparently missed the point. This trip taught the protagonists to break out of their small circle of gossip and popularity, and see the real wonders of the world.