“emily in paris” is your new rom-com obsession, and comfort binge during these troubled times

Screen-Shot-2020-08-14-at-12.29.39-PMR-H-2020-1601307666-928x523.jpg — 62/100 “sweet/sour”

Sex and the City creator, writer, director and producer Darren Star returns with Emily in Paris, Netflix’s new rom-com obsession we never knew we needed. Starring the cheerfully witty, all-American actress Lilly Collins and plopping her in the beautiful city of Paris, this is the perfect guilty pleasure for tough times like these, and is an easy comfort binge over a rainy Sunday. It’s totally cliche, cheesy, and downright stupid, but isn’t that what audiences require right now? Move aside Bly Manor and Lovecraft Country, entertainment has gone to a whole new level with this series.

Emily (Collins) is in charge of social media engagement at a marketing firm in Chicago. Her boss, Madeline (Kate Walsh) is supposed to travel to Paris for work, but when she finds out about her pregnancy, Emily, who doesn’t speak a word of French, is chosen to bring an American point-of-view to Savoir, another marketing firm across the world. You know how that goes with the French. Her Cubs-loving, American boyfriend Doug promises to come and visit her after his reluctance to do a long-distance relationship. However, the day he was supposed to arrive, he ditches her, claiming that it was too difficult for him. Luckily for Emily, she’s now single in Paris, and is crushing on the handsome Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), but she must take on the challenge of interacting with her new, very French boss: Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), who’s determined to strike her down.

French critics are already dismissing the series as cliched, and downright offensive to Star’s treatment of their people, but screw them, right? I’ve been to Paris more than a dozen times, and not speaking French there is a total sin. However, if a French person came to the US and didn’t speak a lick of English, it would be considered perfectly fine, huh? Also, the country may have delicious food, beautiful clothing and stunning sights, but the folks are just mean to your face. Paris’ magic truly shines here, especially with the perfect performance from Collins. Her realization that there’s more than just deep-dish pizza fascinates her character as it has for many first-time American tourists who take the magical journey to the City of Lights. She also nails it in terms of charm, and pure energy as she walks through the city completely dazzled. Otherwise, Ashley Park is fantastic as her newfound friend, Mindy Chen, and their friendship is nothing less than entertaining.

Reverting back to the criticism from the French, the show is actually at its best when Emily mingles with them, and the peculiar thing is: they mostly mock her and all of her American-ness. Her co-workers mention several stereotypes, such as how fat American people are, how disgusting their food is, how loud they always are, and more that come down as insults. However, we’re not the ones trashing this series, are we? Of course, this series hints on several occasions to the French and their proudness, their strong belief that they’re superior to everyone else, but the truth is: it’s correct. So while Star’s newest credit won’t win any brownie points in terms of complex storytelling or anything resembling compelling, it really scores when it shows off the grandness of Paris, and the moments it lets Collins’ charms shine.

The final opinion is: Although viewers looking for some Emmy-worthy material won’t find much, during the pandemic, the BLM movement and more, Emily in Paris is the spectacularly dressed, well-made and perfectly charming comfort watch. I would say…BROWSE IT

Rated: TV-MA

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Runtime: Episode 1 (29 minutes), Episode 2 (26 minutes), Episode 3 (26 minutes), Episode 4 (27 minutes)

Directed By: Andrew Fleming (Episodes 1, 2, 3), Zoe R. Cassavetes (Episode 4)