Kirsten Dunst holds court as Marie Antoinette, the 18th century monarch who famously dismissed the starving French masses, saying, "Let them eat cake". However, according to Sofia Coppola, that was just tabloid tittle-tattle in a sympathetic portrait that reflects our modern obsession with wealthy blonde bimbos - ah, Paris... In fact the story largely unfolds at Versailles where the writer/director artfully seduces us with the champagne and choux bun lifestyle.

It's easy to feel for a 14-year-old Marie Antoinette as she's carted off from her home in Austria to marry Louis XVI of France (Jason Schwartzman), and even more so when their diplomatic union is undermined by her failure to conceive a child. The gossips are quick to blame the icy blonde although it is Louis who fails to, er, stand up to the occasion...

The young girl’s anxiety is palpable as she floats through grand halls bustling with whispering aristocrats. But when children do finally enter the picture, she goes off the rails and the story becomes unsteady. Coppola omits historically significant scandals and never quite manages to redeem Marie Antoinette after all the gambling and cake scoffing.

"A RICH UNDERCURRENT OF SLY HUMOUR"

At its best this is an extraordinary growing pains yarn, cleverly offsetting teenage naiveté against world-altering events. A pop soundtrack evokes the 80s flicks of John Hughes (without being obtrusive) and there’s a rich undercurrent of sly humour. Schwartzman is especially funny as the demure Louis and Steve Coogan plays Marie Antoinette’s confidante with a cheeky glint. This mightn't be food for the soul, but it is a pleasurable sugar rush.