Emily in Paris is one of Netflix’s newest releases trending in the US, starring Lily Collins as Emily Cooper, a marketing strategist from Chicago. Once her boss’ plans to work abroad in Paris fall through, Emily is given the opportunity to take her place, even though she doesn’t speak any French and has no experience in the fashion-marketing industry. She is forced to navigate through a new culture in an office that already looks down at her American ways. She documents her time in France through social media and quickly gains attention as she deals with work, romance, and personal issues in her life. This series is created by Darren Star, who also produced Sex and the City. As a Sex and the City lover, I knew I had to watch this show.
Similarly to Carrie Bradshaw, Emily Cooper has a very rom-com way of living her life with unrealistic resolutions to each of her problems and an unbelievable amount of men in love with her after a short period of time. Everything about Emily’s Parisian life feels like watching an elongated version of a rom-com fantasy. From watching her gain hundreds of thousands followers on social media simply by posting Boomerangs and photos of candid strangers to the amount of English spoken in a French city, there is nothing realistic about this show. It manages to fit in a multitude of clichés in each episode, such as Emily being a part of multiple love triangles, betraying a friend for a lover, being given an ultimatum in order to keep her job, and every issue working out in her favor. She rarely listens to her boss or even has to work very hard in order to have a new opportunity fall into her lap. I would be frustrated if I were her coworkers, as well.
The series also squeezes in every French stereotype to an embarrassing extent as if it were going down a checklist. Emily walked around in obnoxious berets, eating chocolate croissants, surrounded by rude coworkers that are constantly smoking and talking about sex. Emily even compares the Paris scenery to Ratatouille, an animated movie about a rat who can cook. This paints the French in a shallow, self-serving, old-fashioned, and sometimes inappropriate way as Emily seemingly introduces her coworkers to feminism, team work, and social media for the first time. They treat her as if these ideas are unheard of and brand new.
Despite all of these flaws, I will definitely be tuning into season two as soon as it comes out. I hate-watched this entire season within two days as it melted my brain. It is so unrealistic and so predictable to the point of entertainment, reminding me of all of my favorite romantic comedies. It is mindless, fun, and interesting enough to keep me captivated throughout all ten episodes. Even though the show goes beyond reality and logic, its lighthearted nature provides an escape that is perfect for a strange year like 2020. If you’re looking for something silly and mind-numbing, Emily in Paris is the show for you!