Oof, French Critics Are *Not* Happy With 'Emily In Paris'
With such heavy stories in the news all the time, a lot of audiences look to their TV shows to provide more escapist fare. Emily in Paris, the latest rom-com series from Netflix that dropped on Oct. 2, more than delivers on that promise. The lighthearted show is filled with ridiculously frivolous moments that are getting all kinds of reactions. The Emily in Paris reviews are a real mixed bag, with some critics hating how unrealistic the show is, and others loving it for that very reason.
Emily in Paris centers on main character Emily (Lily Collins), who left behind her life in America for a Parisian fantasy. There's a lot of fantasy wish-fulfillment baked right into the premise of the series, along with all its beautiful locations, costumes, and stars. But even though the show features Emily's dream version of French life, not everyone agrees with the depiction. Many French reviewers are saying the series perpetuates French stereotypes and glorifies a fake version of Parisian life.
In his review for Premiere (per The Hollywood Reporter), critic Charles Martin wrote:
[In Emily in Paris] we learn that the French are "all bad" (yes, yes), that they are lazy and never arrive at the office before the end of the morning, that they are flirtatious and not really attached to the concept of loyalty, that they are sexist and backward, and of course, that they have a questionable relationship with showering. Yes, no cliché is spared, not even the weakest.
On the TV review site AlloCiné, French audiences have called the show "embarrassing" and noted its "completely wrong image of Paris." Another user called it "a series that could have been great if it hadn't caricatured the French," going on to say, "In this series, the French are described as arrogant, dirty, lazy, mean, bitter ... but luckily this young American arrives to explain to us how life works. It's just deplorable, I wonder why French actors agreed to star in this series."
It's not all bad though. Other reviewers (albeit mostly U.S.-based ones) are praising Emily in Paris for all of its ridiculous storylines, mostly saying it's peak feel-good TV in a time when it's needed most. Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz at The Cut called the show "happy hour for your brain." Kristen Baldwin at Entertainment Weekly said she "devoured the entire first season like a tray of petits fours and remain[s] desperately hungry for more." Twitter has also chimed in with a wide variety of opinions, but the bottom line is that Emily in Paris is the talk of many towns right now.
You can form your own opinions about Emily in Paris by watching Season 1, which is streaming on Netflix now.
