
Watching Emily in Paris, Netflix's new rom-com series, is like having a one-night stand and then being disappointed when it doesn't immediately result in a wedding.
There's not enough substance or character development within this frothy TV confection to warrant a long-term watching relationship, but for a swift and entertaining binge-watch, it's the perfect weekend partner.
Prior to the release of this new 10-part Netflix series, it was widely hyped across multiple media outlets as the new Sex and the City. Yet, apart from the fact that both shows stem from the same creator, Darren Star, and feature a woman running around a city in a pair of inappropriate shoes she probably can't afford, the two shows don't really share any DNA.
In the series, Lily Collins stars as Emily Cooper, a social media strategist from Chicago who, through a twist of fate only found in a rom-com, is unexpectantly transferred to a job in Paris and finds herself living a new adventurous life in the city of love.
Despite the fact she does not speak French.
I thought after it became clear that reality TV shows like The Hills were all a setup, that plot points like this, around young women suddenly being transferred to magical new lives thanks to their starter jobs, might have been dropped as plot points by 2020.
Yet here we are.
Lily Collins stars as Emily Cooper, a social media strategist who moves to Paris for work despite the fact she does not speak French. Image: Netflix.
Along with her footwear and inability to speak the language, Emily's biggest barrier to truly enjoying her magical new Parisian life is her co-workers. The people working alongside her in the marketing of luxury goods question (quite justifiably) exactly what she's doing there and initially give her the cold shoulder.
In many ways, Emily in Paris, falls into the predictable rom-com tropes and traps that have plagued the genre for years.
Emily's initial foe is her older co-worker Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) even though it's difficult to place exactly why such a successful woman would take time out of her day to terrorise the young American. To the point where it starts to feel like a poor woman's The Devil Wears Prada.
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