‘Emily’ prompts questions
There is a certain kind of heroine we are accustomed to seeing on television: the plucky ingénue - annoying, but supposedly in an endearing way. Awkward, but quirky. Uptight, but spontaneous when it matters most.
The latest addition to the bunch is Emily Cooper, the character played by Lily Collins in the Netflix series “Emily in Paris.” Emily moves from Chicago to Paris after she is selected to replace her pregnant boss as the American consultant at a boutique marketing firm. “Emily in Paris” is a real headscratcher that has been “blasted by French critics.” It’s also extremely
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bingeable. Spanning just 10 half-hour episodes, this is the sort of series you watch with a grimace and a creeping sense of secondhand embarrassment. But you’re still watching it! And you’ll think of it for days to come.
You’ve read to this point, which suggests you, too, are invested in Emily’s cliche Parisian life. Have you also been left with too many unanswered questions? Join us as we unpack our own.
1. Do none of Emily’s American colleagues speak French, either, or are we supposed to believe she’s that much better at her job than everyone? How could they know that to be true, when this job is in luxury goods and she only has experience marketing pharmaceuticals? Our sympathies to whoever is the Chicago office’s equivalent of Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada.”
2. Emily insults Lou Malnati’s within the first 15 minutes of this show, a personal affront to this reporter (who hails from a Chicago suburb).
Which deep dish joint would Emily recommend to tourists?
3. Yes, she is American, but are we supposed to believe Emily’s main reference points for Paris are “Moulin Rouge!” and “Ratatouille”? Do I almost respect this level of cluelessness?
4. Emily’s hot neighbor, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), looks a lot like Armie Hammer, and this is his “Gossip Girl.” What will be his “Social Network”? His “Call Me by Your Name”?
5. How did Emily manage to quadruple her Instagram following in a few days with such inane, cliched posts? There are far superior Parisian influencers. Is it just because she’s hot?
6. Why is Emily so sure her American perspective is always the right one? Her colleagues can be rude and old-fashioned at times, but she seems a bit too proud of her cultural ignorance. Sylvie rightfully criticizes Emily at one point, saying: “You come to Paris. You walk into my office. You don’t even bother to learn the language. You treat the city like it’s your amusement park. And after a year of food, sex, wine and maybe some culture, you’ll go back to where you came from.”