Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review: Back to Paris, Between Love, Lightness and Glamour
Cast: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucas Bravo, Ashley Park, Camille Razat, Samuel Arnold, Bruno Gouery, William Abadie, Lucien Laviscount
Created By: Darren Star
Where to Watch: on Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 returned in August: a singular distribution choice since tales of fairies and knights would be suited to much warmer seasons. And yet, the publicist Cooper (Lily Collins) who lends her name to the series has basically grown up, less naive than we remembered and also less sentimental. She is no longer the princess and the pea who needs to be taught everything. Arriving as the protagonist (at least on the bill) in the fourth season, she has not given up her over-the-top outfits and her goofy smile even when a more grim demeanor would be needed, she has not become a bohemian consumed by vice and not by remorse, but, well, she is no longer the little girl trapped in the enchantment of her fabulous golden (or, rather, pastel-colored) world. Emily has woken up. Among the most followed series on Netflix, which have enriched its schedule for years now and have in some way made the recent “history” of the platform, there is also Emily in Paris. If belonging to the category of carefree guilty pleasure has not saved it from criticism – remember the fuss about the superficial representation of French culture and the excessive unrealism of certain aspects of the show?
The series by Darren Star (the same as Sex and the City) has nevertheless created a solid fanbase. Even with the arrival of its fourth season, Emily in Paris will undoubtedly return among the most viewed on the platform, bringing a bit of lightness and (figuratively) freshness to the torrid days of its viewers. The formula that made it successful is always the same: telling the romantic (mis)adventures of the bubbly and very American Emily in a trendy and colorful Paris, where the situations (sometimes disastrous) that the protagonist gets herself into are always resolved with a pinch of luck and intuition for communication. Approaching the viewing of these new episodes – as is now customary, the series arrives on Netflix in several installments, the first in August, the second on September 12 – we asked ourselves if the usual Parisian routine of Lily Collins’ character would be able to keep us glued to the screen once again, or if it had become too repetitive. Having finished watching these first 5 episodes, we are more inclined towards the second of these two options as we will see in this review.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review: The Story Plot
The previous season ended with the failed wedding between Camille (Camille Razat) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) left our Emily in the lurch and the sentimental situation of our protagonist, in the new episodes, has become – once again – more complicated than ever. Even at work things are not going smoothly, a video gone viral puts Emily at the center of an uncomfortable situation, and Sylvie ((Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) clashes with some problematic events from her past (#Metoo seems to have finally arrived, even in the postcard France of Emily in Paris) and the abandonment of Julien (Samuel Arnold), who changes employer, sends Luc (Bruno Gouery) into complete confusion (the actor is at the center of some of the funniest sequences of the season).
In short, Emily in Paris starts off with verve, as usual, but re-proposing elements and situations that feel a bit déjà vu: love triangles, friendships that are something more but get lost in misunderstandings and indecisions, work disasters that are resolved with strokes of luck and unexpected intuitions. Bringing a slightly different dynamic is once again the task of Mindy (Ashley Park), now preparing to participate in the next Eurovision (an event that we hope to see in the next tranche of episodes), and of Sylvie, a character who we will see will be able to convey more “serious” and important themes in the show.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review and Analysis
Lively, ironic, colorful, and romantic, Emily in Paris returns to Netflix, giving the public a bit of sparkle in this hot summer. The long-awaited fourth season of The Adventures of an American in Paris will not disappoint the many who have followed her in the previous stories, because the elements that have proven to be winning in this brilliant and sugary series are not lacking even in the first episodes of this fourth chapter. The glossy and colorful packaging, and the watchword “lightness” remain unshakeable pillars of this great success of the streaming platform, but it must be said that the public will find themselves, right from the start, faced with a new level of complexity of the proposed stories. Moreover, the explosive finale of the third season already represents a premise and a promise of substantial future developments that arrive on time.
A greater complexity that concerns first of all the intricate Emily (Alfie)- Gabriel – Camille (Sofia) story, but also another scabrous story that highlights a bad story and the courage to say enough, and in this case the protagonists who will find themselves having to make important choices are Mindy (Ashley Park) and above all Silvye, a character, the one played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who from season to season becomes more and more characterized and acquires, indeed, deservedly conquers, more space and centrality. The strengths and weaknesses of Emily in Paris are always the same, and the viewer finds in these first 5 episodes exactly what he expected to find. If on the one hand everything is consistent with the soul of the show – between splendid views of Paris, colorful and eccentric clothes, and the usual clichés to which the previous seasons had accustomed us – on the other hand the formula ends up seeming worn out, and everything drags on with a bit of tiredness.
Emily in Paris is a show designed to be light, to make its viewers switch off, but having arrived at the fourth season we are a bit tired of always finding the same dynamics. There is an attempt to change the cards on the table a bit, especially with the introduction of the ever-present issue of abuse in the workplace. The choice to entrust this storyline to Sylvie is a winning one because the actress can give a certain depth to her character even in the comedy context of Emily in Paris. And it is precisely this subplot that is more convincing than the others, and that particularly piques our curiosity in this first tranche of episodes. At this point, all we can do is wait for the second part of this season, which as we know will be set in Italy, and which could bring that breath of fresh air and that extra boost that the series really needs.
The younger characters in the series are all afraid of losing someone or something, but above all, they are afraid of losing themselves and, even more, of losing face. None of them ever dares when an ambitious goal fades away, they celebrate the return to their previous life, to what they already knew; when they lose the opportunity to tie someone, they no longer love themselves, and they lie to tighten the noose even more. Freedom is frightening because it requires letting go giving up something, giving up themselves, their imaginary omnipotence. You need a mask to tell the truth; otherwise, you hesitate audacity, as we know, is something for old people. Universally and even more so, in this sociological shift whereby sixty-year-olds today are daredevils and thirty-year-olds are timid, weakened by their own vanity. More social than social.
Emily in Paris‘s flaws do not change, and perhaps they are only attenuated in this first part of the season. After three years, the authors remember the existence of TikTok in communication, which however returns more central in the life of our protagonist dressed in an always eccentric and at the same time impeccable way – very reminiscent of the work done on Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. One of the reasons that made her a fashion icon, and, coincidentally, the two female comedies have the same creator in common. The characters have economic problems and yet they do not fail – with one pretext or another, like Mindy’s millionaire boyfriend (Ashley Park) – to always wear designer clothes and go to prestigious restaurants. Speaking of Michelin stars, Gabriel continues his journey to try to get one for his restaurant, while the aspiring singer and his band do everything they can to get to Eurovision.
As always, there is no shortage of stereotypes and clichés, such as those that now characterize Julien (Samuel Arnold) and Luc (Bruno Gouery), and there is no shortage of postcard views of a French capital that is always magical and full of possibilities, where we would all like to live by watching the show. And there is no shortage of the sometimes-annoying attitude of the protagonist, to whom Lily Collins gives all her sweetness. As we were saying, in this gripping incipit of the fourth chapter of the Netflix comedy (criticized but that we can’t stop watching), the authors remember the communicative part, that is, Emily’s work, divided between exclusive presentations, marketing promotions, social campaigns and the involvement of influencers for photo opportunities. At the same time, a very current topic is discussed – inserted if we want with a certain delay but which unfortunately never goes out of fashion – that is, that of a sexist and toxic work environment to be denounced, in which Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) will find herself involved, forced also to make an important career and visibility choice, which could also affect her husband and her own agency, the Agence Grateau, which is still making its way in the competitive Parisian scene.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review: The Last Words
In short, the careers of many will be at risk in these five episodes. A turning point that allows the series to also talk about a generational leap, or how father and son can deal with an uncomfortable and potentially legal situation differently, and show that change in a company can exist and be implemented if there is a real will behind it. In short, all things considered, if you loved the first seasons of Emily in Paris, this fourth part will captivate you from the first episode, between dreams that finally seem to come true and a cruel fate that always intervenes to complicate the situation. But Emily in Paris Season 4, precisely because of some new narrative elements and a greater depth of writing, also seems to be the right season to approach the adventures of the exuberant Emily if you are among the few who still don’t know her and want to dive into a colorful, bright world that can make you dream and have fun.
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 1 Review: Back to Paris, Between Love, Lightness and Glamour - Filmyhype
Director: Darren Star
Date Created: 2024-08-15 13:52
3
Pros
- The attempt to give space to important issues
- Some of the secondary characters - Sylvie, Luc and Mindy - work very well.
Cons
- The dynamics are always the same
- The show drags on with a certain weariness
