'Monte Carlo' a sweet for the tweener set

Sugar and spice and MAC Cosmetics and everything tweener girls are made of can be found in "Monte Carlo," an enjoyable summer bonbon. The calories may be empty, but something this small and sweet can't be too bad for you, can it?

"Monte Carlo" stars Selena Gomez, yet another baby-faced brand established by the Disney Channel, in the twin roles of Grace, a Texas high schooler on a trip abroad, and Cordelia, a wealthy British socialite. It's no spoiler to say that Grace ends up wearing Cordelia's Oscar de la Rentas in a plot that's part "Roman Holiday," part "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

Grace travels with two genuinely appealing sidekicks, her friend Emma, a small-town party girl convincingly played by Katie Cassidy, and a depressed stepsister, Meg, who is given a measure of depth by Leighton Meester. (Both actresses are veterans of The CW's "Gossip Girl.") Together and separately, the three frolic through Europe, borrowing dresses, meeting boys and hunting for a missing Bulgari necklace.

Director Thomas Bezucha has an eye for detail (the low-slung buildings of Texas, the click of velvet ropes in Monte Carlo) and he gives his characters time and space to come to life. Well, the girls, that is. Luke Bracey, as a rugged Australian, and Pierre Boulanger, as a French teenager more fashionably tousled than all five Strokes (that's a rock band, parents), are mostly here for the ogling.

Gomez is certainly adorable -- you could just pinch her! -- even though her English accent can be, uh, mercurial. You'll also need to forgive the film's wobbly, three-legged plot. Still, "Monte Carlo" never feels artificially sweetened, which makes it a genuine summer treat.