TV review: Emily In Paris
For those who are badly missing foreign lands, this Netflix rom-com will help you get over your travel withdrawal blues.
It is no wonder that Emily In Paris was No. 1 on the Netflix charts in holiday-starved Singapore.
The light-as-souffle confection is also the brainchild of Darren Star, who gave us guilty pleasures such as Sex And The City, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Central Park West.
Female viewers will find themselves living vicariously through eponymous heroine Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), an ambitious marketing executive from Chicago who lands her dream job in Paris when her company acquires a French luxury marketing company - and she is tasked with revamping its social media strategy.
Her new life is filled with intoxicating adventures and surprising challenges as she juggles winning over her colleagues, making friends and navigating romances.
The resultant culture clash provides most of the entertainment in the first few episodes, where Emily's inability to speak French and her American work ethic and world view lead to several faux pas with her tough boss (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) and work clients.
Collins delivers a charming performance, and there are many things for the Instagram generation to get hooked on - from her tres chic wardrobe to assortment of flirtatious paramours (with hunk du jour being Lucas Bravo as Emily's neighbour-love interest).
The sights and sounds of the City of Love are gorgeously depicted, but the show also peddles tourist-friendly stereotypes and cliches about disagreeable Parisians and sexist, philandering French men amid the fluffy escapist fantasy.
But perhaps more offensive to Asian viewers would be the (mis)casting of Korean-American Ashley Park as Emily's best friend, an outgoing nanny from China teaching French children Mandarin - but who cannot even speak the language authentically.
Ultimately, this is undemanding, binge-worthy viewing that easily washes over you.
So if you are craving pretty things to look at and a frivolous distraction from the pandemic, Emily In Paris is your ticket.
Rating: M18
SCore: 3/5
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