I’ve never been interested in visiting Paris. The whole idea of the city being a place of love, patisseries, culinary cuisine, and fashion means very little to me. But after binge-watching both Season 1 and Season 2 of Emily In Paris over the past couple of days, my mind has been somewhat changed.
Emily In Paris follows Lily Collin’s character Emily Cooper who is a marketing junior that has been sent to France to represent the company she works for. This has occurred because her boss is pregnant and can no longer take on the position of the American representative at their French marketing firm. Sent to France to work and unable to speak a single word of French, the series displays Emily and her American ignorance as adorable. She is shown as fun, skinny, pretty, promiscuous, and living her best life. Everyone wants her, both romantically and professionally.
Very quickly, Emily somehow easily becomes an influencer, and we consistently see her social media grow from the photos and posts that she makes, which fly on and off the screen throughout the show. The life we see of Emily’s really does seem extremely attractive and somewhat perfect.
The truth, however, is far from it. The whole premise is unrealistic with sending a marketing junior to a country where she cannot speak the language. What is also extremely unbelievable is Emily’s wardrobe – there is no way that she can afford all those designer stylish clothes on her junior marketing salary.
The worst part of the show though, is how it just glazes over Emily’s indiscretions. Yes, Emily is extremely problematic. We should not be rooting for the foreigner that knowingly has sex with her friend’s partner. But the show makes it out like it’s not a big deal and that infidelity is quite common in France, something extremely cliché and stereotypical, among the other things. Even though this is one of Emily’s struggles, it really doesn’t feel like one. Despite the surface melodrama, none of the characters in this series feel like they have much depth or personality, nor have they really been tested.
Despite her conveniently being dumped by her boyfriend so that she can frolic single in Paris, we know next to nothing about Emily. We just know she likes to work, that she has no loyalty nor a moral compass, that she seems a bit of an air head despite her profession, and that she has a lot of (hopefully safe) sex. Really, not much depth at all.
What I love about Emily In Paris is about the same on why I feel like I shouldn’t. I love the costumes and designer outfits, although in truth they are unattainable. I love how beautiful and ridiculously good looking everyone is on the show, also unrealistic, statistically there is literally no way. I also adore how the show is filmed on location in France, the sights are truly wonderful to look at and make me feel like I’ve travelled without ever needing to leave home. I’ve always loved when films and shows make the location an additional character of the story, even if it’s seen through rose-tinted glasses.
Although I am painfully aware of how unrealistic Emily In Paris is, you can’t help but be drawn to how perfect and desirable everything is made out to be. Provided you understand what you’re seeing is make-believe, there’s nothing wrong with finding pleasure in this show. If anything, it makes me want to go to France to investigate how Paris really is. Despite the cheating, Emily In Paris is a surprisingly feel-good series that’s easy to watch, and I guiltily can’t wait for both confirmed Seasons 3 and 4.
Season 1 and Season 2 of Emily In Paris are available to watch on Netflix now.