Emily in Paris is just another show that consists of a bunch of cliches and coincidences in an attempt to create a cohesive storyline. There should be no surprise that critics, especially French critics, have been pouring out bad reviews.
We Get It, She Is Pretty.
I love Darren Star, as he practically invented the “I’m sexy woman living in the big city” troupe, but I think it’s time to put it to rest. Maybe it would work if this was the early 2000s when the only way to attract female viewers was to constantly present the female lead with a never ending parade of attractive men who will fall hopelessly in love with her. Hell, this was 75% of the plot of Sex and the City, but we need more substance.
Just like in Sex and the City, during the entirety of show, Emily continously dispenses overly attractive young men. This is seen through Star quickly getting rid of her boyfriend by episode two! To make matters worse, all these men somehow know perfect English… What a coincidence! It is almost like she needs some sort of romantic interest to keep viewers interested in her. There are very few people that can argue that Lily Collins is not pretty, but that does not necessarily mean almost every man she meets wants to sleep with her.
What Exactly Does She Do and Why Is She So Bad At It?
Remember those cliches I mentioned earlier? Well, it could not be more apparent than whenever Emily has to do her job. For most of the show, Emily is some sort of marketing executive, though her title is never really said in the show. Whenever asked what she does, she simply replies, “I work in marketing,” in the same tone an escort would say, “I’m an accountant.” Emily being an escort would make more sense considering the fact that she owns more than $10,000 worth of Christian Louboutin shoes.
My question is what does she do at this marketing firm other than give the “American point of view” to products that are never meant to be marketed to Americans? We know that she does a lot of one off social media for brands which is Emily’s quick solution for everything. However, other than her Instagram, Emily does not have a lot of experience when it comes to social media marketing.
Her lack of experience never stops her though because every idea she has just turns out to be a complete success until the end when it untimely blows up in her face. Whenever she is in a meeting with a client and they present an idea that the client does not like, she will literally just shout out the first thing that comes to mind and it would work. After a while of this shaudy work, she is inevitably fired, then she just pulls another stunt and is rehired.
Emily Is Basically A Karen
The second she uttered, “the customer is always right,” I knew we were dealing with a Karen.
Most of the conflict in the episode is that Emily has trouble fitting in everywhere she goes in France. However, it is made very clear early on in the season that it is the people of France’s fault that no one likes her. That’s right folks, every single person in France was supposed to cater to the needs of one American girl and if not, there is something deeply wrong with them.
When she forgot she was in a different country where they used a different date format, she blamed the host for her incompetence. This is also where I feel the most disdain for the show since Emily never grows out of this entitlement that she has been carrying around since the beginning. Instead of growing as a character, everyone else simply just adjusted to her ideals.
I understand that her idealistic naivete is supposed to rub off on us and make her seem infectious, but it comes off as not only, rude but poor writing.
For these three reasons in particular, I just have to say that this show is just absolutely unwatchable.