French critics have not taken kindly to Emily in Paris, a new Netflix production in which an ambitious twentysomething from Chicago moves to the City of Light mainly, it often seems, in order to meet the gamut of Gallic stereotypes, reports The Guardian.
“The berets. The croissants. The baguettes. The hostile waiters. The irascible concierges. The inveterate philanderers. The lovers and the mistresses. Name a cliche about France and the French, you’ll find it in Emily in Paris,” said 20 Minutes.
“It reduces the capital’s inhabitants to vile snobs sporting Birkin handbags who light up a cigarette the minute they’re out of the gym,” complained the women’s webzine MadmoiZelle. “Three episodes might have been amusing. Unfortunately, there are 10!”
Created by Darren Star, who was responsible for Sex and the City, Emily in Paris tells the story of Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, who is sent to the French capital to work at a French marketing agency that her US employer has just bought.
There, wrote Première’s critic, Charles Martin, she discovers “that the French are all mean and all lazy and never arrive at the office before late morning; and that they are incorrigible flirts with no concept of being faithful”.
They are also, Martin said, “sexist, backward and, of course, have at best a fitful relationship with their showers … Frankly, watching Emily in Paris there’s plenty to feel insulted about. When they decided to caricature us, the authors didn’t hold back.”
In between “the berets, the cocktail dresses and the invariably spotless streets, Parisians will not find it easy to recognise their daily lives,” raged RTL radio.
“Dream apartment with a view over a leafy square. Drinks parties and designer outfits. Roses, handsome Frenchmen who kiss your hand … We haven’t seen so many clichés about the French capital since the Paris episodes of Gossip Girl or the end of The Devil Wears Prada.”