The Only Emily that Belongs in Paris is Emily Blunt: A Review
Source: IMDb
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper
If you fall into one or more of the following categories: been to Paris or France in general, met or know someone French, enjoy or know French culture, eaten or enjoy French food, then it is likely that you will be vastly offended and annoyed by Netflix’s Emily in Paris, the Netflix attempt at replicating Sex and the City (SATC). The story follows an American girl named Emily that moves to Paris. Even though Ernest Hemingway famously once said, “When good Americans die, they go to Paris,” any real-life Parisian (or sane human being) would be horrified to encounter a real-life Emily.
Source: Mashable
In episode one, Emily’s (Lily Collins) boss, Madeline (Kate Walsh) is excited to move to Paris. Her reasoning? “French men love older women. Look at their President. He married his school teacher!” After sniffing her new client’s perfume, Madeline throws up and discovers she is pregnant. She then decides she will not move to Paris after all. Madeline has an actual Master’s degree in French, so she should’ve taken advantage of the universal healthcare system and moved to Paris!
Later, Emily orders French white wine and breaks the news to her forgettable boyfriend that she’s moving to Paris for a year. Her boyfriend, rightly-so, points out that Emily doesn’t speak French. Emily responds in the most horrific way possible: “Fake it ‘til you make it!” Sure, let’s see how that goes over... The two agree to do long-distance, but we all know it’s not probably going to last more than 2.5 more episodes—if that.
Source: NBC News
After Emily’s taxi driver weaves in and out of Paris in a sightseeing montage to earn him possibly the biggest fare ever, she finally arrives in her apartment at the Latin Quarter or 5e arrondissement. The apartment rental agent helps Emily move in as she complains to him about the confusing floor numbers in Europe. He wastes no time at all to hit on her, a recurring theme that the rest of the season loves to rehash. She takes a selfie with her postcard view, captions it on social media #roomwithaview, and changes her username to @emilyinparis. Seriously, who hired her for a job in marketing?!
Going into her new office, her new boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) and co-workers Luc (Bruno Gallery) and Julien (Samuel Arnold) are less than impressed with the American transplant who doesn’t attempt to speak a lick of French. Sticking a phone voice recording translation in people’s face probably doesn’t help either, Emily! The next day, she shows up at work 2 hours early, which would’ve been avoided if she didn’t barge into the office and tell them everything they’re doing wrong on day one. Of course, her co-workers are not excited to spend more time with her and ditch her invitations for lunch. I'm guessing we are meant to feel a Mean Girls "you can’t sit with us" vibe from the French in this scene, but I would 100% ditch her if she was my co-worker, too.
Source: IMDb
Emily (Lily Collins) and Julien (Samuel Arnold)
During lunch by herself, Emily meets a new friend Mindy (Ashley Park) who speaks English and spouts stereotypes about all French people being rude—so hurrah for friendships built on ignorance! That part is completely untrue, as I've personally met many friendly Parisians. Emily accidentally tries to open her hot neighbor Gabriel’s (Lucas Bravo) apartment on the floor below her. We deduce that either Emily will cheat on her boyfriend back home or break up with him for the Sexy French Man. P.S. Sexy French Man’s screentime is the only redeeming quality as to why I relegated myself to watching the rest of the show.
The pilot ends with Emily having Facetime sex with her long-distance boyfriend and then blowing out the electricity in the entire block. Dramatic, much? This never happens in real life!
Source: Glamour
Emily (Lily Collins) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo)
Several questions arise within the first episode (don’t worry, more will come up within the rest of the season!) that I have yet to find the answer for:
If Emily is such an amazing marketing guru, why does she start with only 48 followers on Instagram? Also, the amount of dumb hashtags captions is ridiculous.
How is this the same Patricia Fields of Devil Wears Prada and SATC fame that put together these outfits? Mind-boggling.
Why on Earth does everyone begrudgingly accept the whims of Emily? She just got there!
For what reason are half a dozen French men so charmed by Emily and her (frankly annoying) habits that they flirt with her upon first sight? She’s not the only American in Paris.
Why does the show act like Paris is some antithesis of America? She’s living in Europe, in one of the most expensive cities in the world!
Why was there so much bad French music used?
Why did I even continue to watch this? I miss traveling, but not this bad!
Source: Seventeen
Cast of Emily in Paris
The show’s attempt at replicating the cult-favorite SATC—known for its fashion, blunt sex talk, and hilarious dialogue—missed the mark completely. When I found out this is the same Darren Star, resident creator of shows like SATC, Younger, and 90210, I could not believe it. Let’s take a moment to emphasize the plotline that producers signed off on: Chicagoan Emily Cooper takes a job in France where she does not speak French, nor is she in any way qualified or experienced for the new job she is taking. And she expects everyone to just be okay with it! Emily Blunt’s character Emily Charlton from The Devil Wears Prada would never do such a thing and deserved the Paris trip more!
The fault of the entire show hinges on the expectation that the viewer will buy into this sort of arrogance that they attempted to pass off as being cutesy. However, I cannot blindly accept the unrealistic job expectations and need to drag out the French vs. American over and over and over again. Is Emily seriously that boring that she doesn't have anything better to talk about? The show gives real American ex-pats all over the world a bad reputation! It’s hard to tell whether the writers of the story know exactly how annoying Emily is and run with it for satire, or are blissfully unaware of how ignorant she comes off. Here’s to hoping this trainwreck gets canceled for season 2!
Source: E! News
Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt)