Pardon my French: A review of ‘Emily in Paris’

The latest Netflix original series Emily in Paris follows the life of young American marketing executive Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), who is unexpectedly offered a job in Paris after her boss withdraws due to a surprise pregnancy.

Despite being unprepared for the whirlwind move, Emily arrives in the city with hearts in her eyes and seemingly zero knowledge of the French language and culture, which ruffles feathers at the Savoir office and particularly with her unimpressed new boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu).

The stunning visual backdrop of Paris, as seen through the dreamy eyes of Emily, amplifies the show from being an overwhelming congregation of clichés and stereotypes to an aspirational fairy-tale that will leave you overcome with jealousy and late night wailings of “why her and not me?”. We see the typical combination of classic sitcom characters, with the quirky and free-spirited friend Mindy (Ashley Park) and the blossoming dynamic between Emily and her hunky love interest Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), both providing a welcome antidote to Emily’s over-the-top attempts to infiltrate Savoir with entitled American practices and incessant social media usage.

In spite of the obvious cheesiness, over-glorification of influencers and the slight butchering of the proud French culture, the latest series from the creators of Sex and the City is a feel-good and surprisingly watchable show. Emily in Paris brings together light humour and immaculate scenes of the city with the impeccably dressed Lily Collins to deliver a poignant and corny reminder that your dreams can come true. My advice for any potential viewers – don’t expect to be intellectually stimulated, but simply enjoy the beautiful fantasy that Emily in Paris has curated. Sometimes we need hope to be wrapped up in the form of a Netflix show to remind us of everything we have to look forward to.

Verdict: 8/10

Emily in Paris is available to stream on Netflix now.

Watch the trailer below: