Emily, the Eiffel Tower and 25 champagne cocktails.
I’ve mentioned before how Paris is truly the American Dream. Americans have this soft-focused view of the City of Light through which the iconic boulevards, the Eiffel Tower and the bridges of the Seine shine through. Absinthe with Hemingway and chic Parisian lovers also figure. The sun shines, the birds sing, and mornings start with a croissant and a café au lait.
For these whimsical views of Paris, a new television show has arrived. Emily in Paris is about a young marketing executive from Chicago who is sent to Paris to inject the American perspective into a hidebound French marketing company. Made by the Sex in the City crowd, Emily is dressed in fashionable fashion, has a glorious big old apartment, a handsome and flirty neighbor, and a cranky boss who she Instagrams into the 21st century.
This is a very silly show. It is cream puffs and soap bubbles. Not a lot happens. Paris apparently has no traffic, no garbage, no poor people, every table is available, parking is easy.
It’s not exactly gripping drama. It’s how the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy described the planet Earth: Mostly Harmless.
The real Parisians, of course, are furious. They think the show is ludicrously unrealistic. Americans who have come to live in Paris are also unhappy. Emily does not show the high cost of living or the scarce real estate options.
What the show does get right, though, is Paris itself. Yes it is shown at it’s best light, but they did not need to invent the architecture and spectacular views. All of those cafes exist in real life. The Paris Opera building is amazing without any added television magic. In that sense it really does show off the city.
So I will keep my Paris fantasies and enjoy Emily. The characters might be thin, in every sense, but they are moving around my favorite city, the splendid City of Light in all its glory.
The Cafe Below Place Goudeau, Montmartre.