What I thought about: Emily in Paris

A charming comedy romance with breathtaking views of Paris, I was really enjoying this one up until its somewhat chaotic end, whereupon it suddenly felt, well, a bit of a sausage fest. I hope a second season, if there is one, focuses more on Emily’s marketing prowess.

Of course her phone case looks like a camera. It’s so _ringarde_!

What’s it about?
Emily is a young but successful marketing executive from Chicago. The company she works for recently acquired a boutique marketing agency in Paris – Savoir – which her senior colleague was due to be seconded to. Said colleague falls pregnant and Emily, who doesn’t speak a word of French, offers to go in her place.

When she arrives in Paris, she’s treated to quite the culture – and language – shock. Receiving a less than friendly welcome from her boss and metaphorical dinosaur of the marketing industry, Emily tries her best to remain upbeat by pulling off a number of successful marketing stunts and blogging her journey on Instagram, where she quickly racks up a decent following.

Being so good(looking) at her job does grab the attention of a number of male clients, including a perfumer, fashion house boss, and vineyard heir. Here’s the chick flick element – Emily has to carefully navigate the sex-infested waters of Paris to figure out her true love.

What do I like about it?
Emily is a well-written character portrayed fantastically well by Lily Collins. She is resourceful, smart, quick-thinking, and career-driven. I felt inspired watching this, and I’m a male lawyer. I can’t imagine what it might do for those more closely aligned to Emily and her career path. Also, the wardrobe department pulled off some simply amazing looks. Emily is a fashion icon in her own right.

Seeing Emily settle into Parisian life, struggling at first but slowly improving her language and grasp of the culture, was a joy to watch and included several genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments. The show’s gotten flack for stereotyping the French, but I’d have thought the majority-French cast would have pointed out if the writers were being too cruel.

And if you’re wondering, the male love interests are, to borrow a word from a friend who’s also seen the show, ‘fit’. Make of that what you will.

What do I not like about it?
Emily’s skill and endless optimism gets somewhat sidelined in the second half of the season and relationships become increasingly complicated. This culminates in a final episode that literally felt as though she was being passed around by the male love interests. It’s hard to explain, but it was quite off-putting.

Worth a watch?
It’s not a must-see, but if the premise sings to you, sit back and take in the 4K views of Paris as the story unfolds.

By the way…

  • I found it funny that Emily’s American boyfriend is literally subtitled as ‘Boyfriend’. They didn’t even give him a name!
  • I alluded to it above but I can’t stress enough – the scenes were so brilliantly shot. Try and watch in Dolby Vision if you can.

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