“Emily in Paris”, a new Netflix production, has been making a lot of talk since its release on October 2, 2020. So what is Darren Star's series, to whom we already owe “Sex and the City”?
Darren Star, the creator of Sex and the City and Younger, has just unveiled its new Netflix series. Emily in Paris recounts the adventures of a young American from the Midwest, who comes to live in the capital after receiving a golden professional opportunity. We talked to you about it from D-Day: barely was the series available on Netflix, than French Internet users were confused about the clichés about Parisians that it abounds. But Emily in Paris is it just that?
A very idealized Paris
We are not going to lie to each other: Internet users have hit the nail on the head. From the first episode, the clichés accumulate. Emily arrives in Paris by taxi and, amazed, discovers the Arc de Triomphe as well as all the iconic monuments for which the capital is famous. Then it was the turn of her maid's room to receive a visit from the young woman. We might as well say that we are far from the usual ten square meters with kitchen in the bathroom. Emily enjoys a comfortable living space, with breathtaking views of the city.
Emily's daily life then revolves around chic neighborhoods: Haussmann buildings as far as the eye can see, trips to the Café de Flore on weekends, jogging at the Jardin des Plantes or on the banks of the Seine … Zero metro or pigeon stations. in the gutter on the program. But be it! Paris is beautiful, Paris is romantic… Until the drama. // Warning, spoilers // Emily gradually discovers that Parisians don't envision sex like everyone else. In this Paris seen by Darren Star, the French have multiplied extramarital affairs, not without their spouses being aware. And when they are not busy cuckolding their partners, the Frenchies smoke, everywhere, all the time, even in the office! Fun, to a point …
Would Darren Star have trouble with modernity?
Over the course of his career, the producer has enjoyed incredible success, including that of Sex and the City, who broke taboos around female sexuality in the 90s. But today, her approach to certain subjects seems somewhat outdated, with Star struggling to renew herself despite his "woke" remarks. Emily in Paris end up looking more like Younger, his other iconic series, to a Sex and the City more ambitious and successful. Everything here feels smooth and incredibly controlled. Even Emily's misadventures are experienced with a lot of class by our heroine, and in outfits more boring than an afternoon on avenue Montaigne.
The pleasure of fall 2020
But if we put our cynicism aside (did you say French?), Emily in Paris still pleasing to the eye. A little overwhelmed by the time, Darren Star manages to offer an entertainment that is certainly unpretentious, but which relaxes in this troubled period, where we have the feeling of being permanently on the lookout (for the Covid, misogynistic outings in the media, maps of France that change from light red to scary vermilion every two days ..). Better: like Younger, Emily in Paris is a shoot of good humor that we can hardly resist, like its main character played by Lily Collins, cheerful as an optimistic and ambitious young woman. Emily is simply there to make us dream with her daily life punctuated by luxury outings and monuments that we thought we had seen too much. At the end of 2020, it is already not so bad …
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