I’ll admit: I had extremely high expectations for Emily in Paris and it definitely lived up to them, but there were many scenes in the series that were completely unexpected. I’m a huge Carrie Bradshaw fan from Sex and the City, so I needed this show to live up to Darren Star’s other marvelous shows. While many have criticized this show for being tacky and cliche, having bad acting, and having bad character development, I fell in love with this show from the first minute.
Emily in Paris is a binge-worthy romantic comedy that is knowingly ludicrous. The tackiness of it is the point because we know it’s not realism. This show was meant to be light-hearted silliness, and it definitely accomplished that. So, here are the reasons why I loved Emily in Paris and why you should too.
- It highlights the differences between French and American culture in a light-hearted humorous way.
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Sometimes Emily isn’t that likable, especially when she starts acting like a Karen in a French restaurant saying that the “customer is always right,” but that’s okay because if she were 100% likable, the show wouldn’t have been so good.
Though sometimes Emily’s way of wanting everything at Savoir and in Paris to be American is annoying, to Americans, French culture is so abstract and different from ours, so this show does a good job of portraying French culture through the lens of an American. As someone who has never been to Paris, it’s interesting to see the stereotypes of French culture in this show and learn from it.
Her American “confidence” in which she blurts out her opinion in nearly every scenario makes her unlikeable, but I think that it adds a layer of humor to the show and truly displays how different the French and American cultures are. And though Emily in Paris features more French cliches than a man in a black and white striped shirt with a red beret holding a baguette, it’s the cliches that make the show more entertaining.
- The cinematography is to die for and makes me want to visit Paris ASAP
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I’ve always dreamed about visiting (and possibly living) in Paris and working in a creative environment such as Savoir, so when I first heard about this Netflix series I was beyond ecstatic. Emily in Paris has made me adore Paris even more than I already did with the lovely shots of the Eiffel Tower, French cafes, and, of course, the love-interest Gabriel.
- Emily’s French love-interest, Gabriel. Need I say more?
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I’m team Gabriel all the way. For one, he’s super cute. And, he was always willing to help Emily and be there for her when she needed someone. The fact that Doug wouldn’t even give long-distance a chance and called Emily at the last minute to say that he wasn’t coming to Paris to see her was so disappointing. But honestly, I was rooting for Gabriel from the first episode, so I’m glad she and Doug ended things. Doug had no desire to see the world and experience life to the fullest, but Emily did, so in a way, it was good that Emily chose Paris and life over him.
There are several moments in the show involving Gabriel that are so funny because of the cultural differences. For example, Emily freaks out when Gabriel corrects her and tells her that shower in French is “la douche,” because of what the word douche means in English slang.
Also, when Emily forgets that in Paris the first floor actually starts on the second floor multiple times and attempts to open Gabriel’s door made my heart warm because he was always so happy to see her, even if it was an accident.
- Emily’s outfits are tres chic and give me major fashion inspiration.
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The criticism of Emily’s outfits is completely baffling to me. I absolutely loved each and every one of her vintage Chanel-inspired outfits. Even though they were unrealistic because she would’ve had to be ultra-rich to afford the clothes she wore, they gave me major fashion inspiration to up my fashion-game before ever stepping foot in Paris.
- Emily always has a positive attitude and gives the show a feel-good effect.
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Emily’s Parisian coworkers at Savoir are hostile towards her from the start, especially Sylvie, who seems to have a perpetual grudge against Emily and her American ways, but she never once bats an eye and always keeps a positive attitude at work and has an unwavering determination to bring an American perspective to French marketing.
I loved Emily’s cheesy selfie moments because it reminded me of taking in every beautiful moment in life, and that’s exactly what she did.
And come on, if we were all as gorgeous as Lily Collins, we would take selfies like that too.
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