TV Review: Emily in Paris
The new chic Netflix show that sparked controversy Cameron Chappell, Staff Writer
Lily Collins plays a young marketing assistant in “Emily in Paris.”
Photo by Carole Bethue, Netflix
Upon its release, Twitter has raved about Netflix's new show “Emily in Paris”. Some comments were good, but most reviews were negative and spoke poorly of the show. The debate was centered around whether the show was an accurate depiction of living a Parisian lifestyle or if it was too stereotypical.
“Emily in Paris” follows the life of 20-something Emily Cooper, who ends up getting a promotion at a marketing firm that requires her to move from Chicago to Paris to give an American perspective to a French company. The show is reminiscent of “Sex and the City”, which has the same creator, Darren Star, and costume designer, Patricia Field. It also seems to incorporate aspects of “Gossip Girl” and “The Devil Wears Prada.” What do all of these chic moments of cinema have in common? They scream late 2000s and early 2010s. The only problem is “Emily in Paris” is based in 2020 and not a decade ago, but you wouldn’t be able to tell without the social media marketing aspect.
The culture shock Emily goes through is very apparent to viewers, but she doesn’t do much to try and fit in with the French. Instead, she continuously tries to change and Americanize everyone and everything around her. Even though Emily doesn’t speak a lick of French and doesn’t learn much throughout the entire show, she somehow succeeds at every task at hand. Most of the time, it’s because of side characters who are present solely to help Emily when it’s convenient for her and don’t actually serve much towards the plot. Emily is a rather flat character and experiences no character development throughout the show. Everything seems to work out for Emily in the end -- job and relationship-wise -- despite her being a terrible person. She does a good job of making people want her to succeed because of her bubbly personality, but her actions don’t match.
The fashion is what attracted most viewers to “Emily in Paris,” and just like the overall show, the outfits received mixed reviews. In the beginning, Emily is depicted as somewhat clueless about the fashion industry but wears a variety of expensive designer pieces like Chanel. None of Emily’s clothing choices represent or influence the trends and style of right now; there’s just nothing memorable. Feeding right into another stereotype, the moment Emily arrives in Paris she puts on a beret. Everyone knows the joke that the French can spot a tourist a mile away because they always wear berets.
“Emily in Paris” has 10 episodes that span around 30 minutes each, so it is almost impossible not to sit and binge-watch the entire show in a day. Although it is a cliché show based in the city of love and about the fashion and beauty industry, it gives viewers a sense of hope in the pandemic. It’s easy to escape to Paris with Emily and get lost in the drama while sitting in the comfort of your home. The last episode does end on a cliffhanger, and you can’t help but want more. Season two has not been officially announced, but Netflix would be missing out on a great opportunity if it decided to discontinue the popular show.
Overall, “Emily in Paris”did its job of keeping viewers entertained. Everything was too perfect, which is nice to imagine but not at all realistic or original. The social media influencer approach the show takes is on-brand for the times and interesting to watch for Generation Z. If you want something cute and flirty, fashionable, and fun with the typical French flair, this is definitely the show for you.
