let's talk about emily in paris 💘🥐🍾 (a review)

[Music] let's talk about emily in paris over a year ago i reviewed the first season of emily in paris and after criticizing the ridiculous cliches tired tropes shocking stereotypes and awful clothes i ended the video by saying if it's renewed for a second season good for them and good for the people who enjoyed it i just won't be watching it obviously i lied having spent a decent amount of 2021 watching unnecessary remakes and half-hearted revivals i was desperate for something that was at least attempting to be original and as much as i initially disliked emily in paris it did fit the bill and you know what i'm glad i gave the show a second chance because i actually think it's gotten better while it's still cheesy and cringy at times many of the problems i had with the first season have been rectified which i credit to star producer lilly collins who actually used the criticisms as a guideline saying in an interview quote as disheartening as it sometimes is to read these things it's also a gift you're being allowed to improve which is honestly how more people in the industry should react to negative reviews in today's video i'll be discussing the second season of netflix's emily in paris what i liked what i didn't and what i'd like to see in the third inevitable season this review is based on my own preferences so there will obviously be things that i liked that you didn't and vice versa it is what it is and i don't really know where else to mention this but did you know that the show is actually supposed to be pronounced emily in perry don't feel too bad if you've been getting it wrong the show's cast didn't get the memo either i'm lilly collins and i'm ashley park and we're on the set of emily in paris now before we get into the rest of the video i wanted to take a moment to thank today's sponsor nordvpn if you spend as much time on the internet as i do then i'm sure you've heard about the importance of using a vpn when it comes to maintaining your digital privacy and security with its thousands of secure servers in dozens of different countries nordvpn ensures that you can browse cyberspace on multiple devices while keeping your data safe you can also use nordvpn to check out what other countries are offering on their streaming platforms which is honestly one of my favorite features if you're interested in seeing more of paris and a lot less emily all you have to do is connect to nordvpn and hop on over to france where i've been watching the hookup plan on netflix a french comedy series with an incredibly likable and hilarious cast of characters it really is that easy right now you can get a two-year plan at a huge discount plus one additional month free when you go to nordvpn.com modern girls that's modern g-u-r-l-z or click the link in our description this deal is totally risk-free with nord's 30-day money-back guarantee so what have you got to lose the show picks up where we left off in season one with emily having slept with gabriel her downstairs neighbor and the ex-boyfriend of her friend camille aside from camille everyone knows about her scandalous tryst with gabriel including her co-workers and her now roommate mindy who has been disowned by her billionaire father and has been staying in paris on an expired work visa making it difficult for her to find employment ridden with guilt but not enough in my opinion emily goes off to sancho pay with her love interest matthew from the previous season who promptly dumps her after finding out about gabriel at emily's birthday party camille finally finds out about her and gabriel and the two have a falling out with camille taking it out on emily professionally and personally emily's french has barely improved since last season and the american culture clash continues to cause her problems at work so she finally begins taking her lessons more seriously meeting alfie in the process meanwhile mindy has been performing at a local drag show in order to make money where she eventually draws the attention of a group of musicians who ask her to be the lead singer of their band while she initially accepts the offer because she thinks it's a profitable opportunity it turns out to be busking on the streets but she finds herself enjoying it and finds romance in the process camille hatch has a plan to get revenge on emily and pretends to have forgiven her making her swear to never be involved with gabriel again emily stays true to her word and distances herself from gabriel eventually beginning a relationship with alfie who i'll be honest is a far better love interest than gabriel nearing the end of the season emily's boss from chicago madeleine pays a visit to the paris office where she criticizes the french way of doing things and butts heads with sylvie this backfires and sylvie along with emily's other co-workers quit and announced their intention to start their own marketing firm inviting emily along for the ride madeline who refuses to accept responsibility for the situation offers emily a promotion and an eventual return to chicago if she stays with the company alfie who has only been in paris for work tells emily that he has to return to england leaving her confused about whether or not they'll be able to continue their relationship long distance still haunted by her feelings for gabrielle she finally works up the nerve to tell him the truth only to discover that he and camille have gotten back together this leaves emily feeling even more conflicted about what she wants to do with her life and the season ends on a cliffhanger with the audience wondering what decision emily will make having watched quite a few shows like gossip girl and just like that and brooklyn 99 that have included covid19 into their storylines albeit briefly i personally appreciate that emily and paris decided to avoid it not only because this type of show probably couldn't handle a coveted storyline appropriately but also because it fits into the sort of self-centered meme attitude that the show's title character has it also plays into how emily and the audience by proxy romanticized paris and how in that perfect world there would be no such thing as a pandemic avoiding kovid was a conscious decision on the part of the producers with lily collins saying quote season 1 allowed us in escapism when it came out that it felt it was something we needed to continue not addressing it because it brings a sense of escapism and joy and laughter in a time that we need it most this sense of escapism is present throughout the series with many characters leading idealistic lives that the average person has no chance of achieving however unlike the first season the show actually takes the time to discuss some of the realities of living in paris and how it isn't like it's depicted in movies or advertisements it's a real place with real people and it's riddled with its own problems something a lot of people don't realize when they travel to their dream destination for the first time unlike the first season where all the drama focused on emily her love life and her americanisms the show switches things up by giving the side characters the time to shine emily's co-workers luke julian and sylvie are allowed to do other things that antagonize emily and clean up her messes although admittedly it still happens on occasion luke shares his love of french new wave films and his fascination with honoree de balzac giving his character a sweet and philosophical side that had yet to be presented sylvie who was already one of my favorite characters is given more substance and nuance and i love that they allow her to be utterly sexy even if she's older see sex in the city your characters don't have to become sexless once they turn 50. julian who was nothing more than a sassy gay sidekick the first season is given a little more to do although he still feels one note in comparison while he has the chance to deal with his own clients and interact with his own love interests we'll circle back to that later his character doesn't seem to have much else going on even though he chastises emily for working so much that seems to be all he does as well when it would be far more interesting to see how he experiences the city in comparison to emily have him show us the real parisian experience there were a few other characters who were left by the wayside when it came to their involvement in the story and for some it was several steps backward gabriel who i haven't liked since the first season becomes an even more useless character which i didn't think was possible given the chance to operate his own restaurant gabriel proves that he's not cut out for the business growing frustrated with his investors suggestions and storming out of the restaurant when he becomes overwhelmed on opening night keep in mind this man has never owned anything aside from his goddamn omelet pan while antoine is literally a multi-millionaire who's run several successful businesses gabrielle should be grateful and as if the first season wasn't bad enough he becomes even more indecisive when it comes to romance keep in mind he was with camille the entire time he was flirting with emily and the very first thing he did after his five-year relationship ended was hop into bed with another woman this season all he does is attempt to sabotage emily's new relationship and ignore camille except when he needs her to fluff his ego but of course once he thinks emily's moved on he decides to crawl back to camille i just don't understand how the showrunners expect us to root for this character sure camille and emily both have their problems but neither of them deserve to be with this wishy-washy man they deserve better also i find it pretty odd that during the first season he was near inescapable magically popping up whenever emily had a problem and this season he's barely around except when he's lurking in doorways or calling people on the phone i'm not complaining because the less of him the better i just think it's a pretty stark difference just like gabrielle i found that both camille and mindy's storylines suffered this season mindy is given a good amount of screen time but nothing really happens her busking storyline is boring at best with it coming off as a blatant attempt to use actress ashley park's singing talents but with the character singing every single episode it made the show feel less like gossip girl and more like glee and come for me if you want but i think the song choices weren't the best ashley park is theatrically trained and as such she benefits from songs with personality and humor so the ballads that she sings in emily and paris feel like a waste of her abilities i was most interested in the character when she expressed how hurt she was at the disintegration of her relationship with her father but that's forgotten about pretty quickly in favor of the busking storyline which is a pity because seeing a character struggle is far more interesting than seeing them effortlessly succeed considering she's essentially broke squatting at emily's apartment and working for bathroom tips it would have been interesting to see mindy try and fail to secure other employment highlighting the very real struggle that immigrants face when trying to find work this also would have given her character more heart and substance instead of leaving her looking like a rich girl pretending to be poor overall her character didn't come off in the best light this season especially when it came to camille emily get it girl no she continuously supports emily's flirtations with gabrielle and makes fun of camille in private but in public she acts like a friend essentially stabbing camille in the back and showing how disingenuous she is at least emily feels bad about the situation mindy is basically like whatever he's hot go for it without considering anyone else's feelings all of these things combined make it very difficult to empathize with her character the one improvement when it comes to mindy's character is the lack of asian jokes the way they had her character poke fun at actual harmful asian stereotypes and make incorrect statements about chinese culture was really uncomfortable to watch last season so it was a relief to see that removed obviously it would have been ideal if it never been there to begin with but their efforts to remedy the situation shouldn't go unnoticed as for camille she starts off as the stereotypical broken-hearted and bitter ex who wants to drown her sorrows in alcohol and hookups completely oblivious to the fact that emily is the reason for her troubles then after finding out the truth she's vengeful and vindictive but only for a single episode where she then decides to scheme against emily by pretending to be nice and then she eventually gets back together with the man who cheated on her to begin with this all makes her character look weak and foolish a far cry from the independent and vivacious girl we met in the first season i wouldn't necessarily say her character is boring but i would have preferred if she'd committed to being the villain instead of playing pointless mind games the scenes where she refuses to speak english so emily can't understand her and calling her names in french are some of the funniest moments in the entire season and i think it would have been funnier if she'd continued on that path while acting nice in front of gabrielle making him think that emily is the one causing problems not camille and maybe it's just me but i think the i'm sleeping with my friend's ex and i feel awful about it but i can't tell her because it'll hurt her feelings trope is overdone and actually detrimental to the story in this situation emily is not only the homewrecker but also a selfish liar who doesn't have enough backbone to tell camille the truth camille not only comes off as a gullible idiot but desperate as well mindy grows unlikable considering she applauds emily's actions instead of admonishing her and is equally as shady gabrielle is just horrible and in the mind of the audience he could never be a viable love interest because he's always going to be an unapologetic cheater even sylvie comes off as patronizing in this scenario where she makes emily feel like a bad person for sleeping with gabrielle when she herself has had numerous affairs the showrunners are clearly doing their damnedest to replicate the formula of shows from the past like gossip girl sex and the city and gilmore girls although regarded as important pieces of pop culture today when these shows first came out they similarly received negative reactions to their character's actions and behavior with critics calling the kids on gossip girl nasty and the women on sex in the city shameless when we look back at these shows and others of their ilk it's clear that their storylines and characters were a product of their time the very first episode of gossip girl has chuck bass attempt to sexually assault two different women but by the end of the show he's happily married with no repercussions for his actions for a sex writer carrie bradshaw is incredibly narrow-minded when it comes to sex and relationships dumping a man because he's bisexual and ridiculing samantha for dating a woman serena van der woodsen spends half of her time making terrible decisions about men and the other half of the time saying she needs to go somewhere else pretty little liars spent seven seasons trying to convince the audience that a 16 year old girl's relationship with her teacher was romantic and rory gilmore acted like a victim when she's actually incredibly privileged none of these things were great even at the time but in a 2021 world they're more likely to get called out on it because of this the choice to make emily annoying judgmental spineless and needy feels purposeful after all they have decades worth of examples on what not to do stories about anti-heroes can be interesting and entertaining just look at weeds breaking bad it's always sunny in philadelphia or killing eve but the reason these shows work is because regardless of how these characters act and whether or not they receive just punishment their actions are framed as wrong emily in paris and the shows it takes inspiration from try to paint their protagonists as someone who continuously makes the same mistake but deserves to be pitied and forgiven regardless if you took emily and stuck her in any other show as a side character she would no doubt be the villain of that story the only reason that some people can watch the show and not see how terrible emily is is thanks to lily collins who manages to twist some of the more insufferable aspects of emily's personality and turn them into something somewhat charming the scene where she recites her poorly written apology letter to camille in an awful french accent is absolutely hilarious and overall she seems to have improved comedically i still don't think that this character is a good representation of her abilities but if she's having fun then who am i to tell her to stop i do wish you'd start focusing on an audrey hepburn biopic though it's a basic fan cast i know but the similarities are too uncanny to ignore while i've mentioned some of the other improvements the show made in regard to its side characters the majority of adjustments happened to emily whose more cringe-worthy behavior has been reduced in the first season they tried to make emily an influencer but with the cheesy boomerangs and ridiculous hashtags it was obvious that the writers had no idea what social media today is like so the fact that they toned down that part of the story was a smart choice last season she was only shown at french class a single time and the character's lack of language skills made her come off as ignorant and lazy so again it was a smart decision to have her actually dedicate time to speaking french whether that was in class at work or in private sure she isn't good at it yet but at least now she's making an effort the show actually includes a lot more french speaking overall the lack of french in the prior season with characters speaking english even when emily wasn't in the room was really odd so the fact that they let these characters and actors express themselves in their native tongue definitely brought a sense of realism that was otherwise missing during the first season the show seemed to frame america as right and france as wrong but in this season the opposite happens with emily constantly being reminded that things are done differently in france and receiving consequences when she tries to force her way this change in message is made most obvious when madeline comes to town with her now being the annoying american who gets in everyone's way even emily recognizes it revealing how even though it's subtle she's evolved shows of this type have always gravitated around sex love and relationships and during the first season of the show we saw emily constantly flirting or being flirted with in the new season they toned down this aspect of her character with emily's romantic interest being reduced down to only two viable candidates making her character seem more grounded as a result although emily's love interests dwindled the show still found a way to include romance although admittedly i found myself disappointed although the showrunners have expressed interest in diversifying the series it's still incredibly heteronormative with the only relationships by the end of the season being straight seeing heterosexual relationships play out on screen is nothing new so it would have been interesting to see such a popular show give the lgbtq plus community some representation representation that isn't harmful or stereotypical the lack of these relationships is especially concerning considering the show's many instances of queerbaiting with female characters kissing and flirting with one another in a way that almost feels fetishistic while no characters have outright identified as straight them possibly being bi or queer doesn't mean anything if they're not actually venturing into those relationships considering how romantically and sexually advanced the show claims the french are you'd think we'd have seen camille or sylvie go out on at least one date with a woman by now or better yet why didn't they have mindy start up a relationship with a woman that would have been far more interesting than her romance with the stereotypical musician dude especially when you factor in the cultural aspects which could have further tied into the strain on her relationship with her father even julian the only outright gay character in the series is still single by the end of the show having been brutally turned down once by the guy who winds up dating mindy and only showing a slight flirtation with a smaller side character i hope that in the third season we get to see him find love and generally have more to do than work now it'd be impossible to talk about emily in paris without bringing up the clothing while in the first season many characters poked fun at emily's style either calling it distinctly american or an outright eyesore this type of comment is only made once over the course of the second season and it's a very simple she dresses silly in a teasing manner i wouldn't say her outfits have become more tame but it's definitely possible that the other characters have simply grown accustomed to them that or they've gone blind patricia field returned to the show as the costume consultant a job that took precedence over a potential stint on the set of and just like that the sex and the city revival the show that made her a household name to begin with and when asked why she didn't want to return she replied quote it was a new concept that the cast was older which i would have never gone for why they want to look old i have no idea but i would have never allowed it this idea of refusing to dress old is perfectly exemplified by sylvie's character who wears an assortment of body-hugging dresses and impeccably tailored suits that make it obvious to the audience who the boss is timelessly chic and stylish she's probably the character whose wardrobe i gravitate towards the most and i'll be honest it's a relief when she's on screen because most of the other costumes actually hurt my eyes camille's style which was once an edgy take on classic french girl fashion has become a complete nightmare while she still wears classic french brands like celine balman alexander votier and isabelle marant the silhouette is all wrong with the many many many oversized blazers completely drowning the actress in fabric in an interview with costume designer marilyn fattussi she said of the character's wardrobe quote she was very nice and genuine at the beginning and someone just [ __ ] on her she experienced betrayal that's why i wanted to introduce her in season two in a massive oversized balmain jacket to put her in more power now power dressing has been a thing since the 80s and blazers with gigantic shoulder pads were a part of that look but the reasoning for dressing her this way doesn't actually hold up in the context of the show before camille finds out about gabriel and emily she isn't vengeful she's heartbroken and confused wondering why the person she loves doesn't want to be with her anymore she should be wearing things that highlight her fragility and femininity something to show that she's mourning the loss of this five-year relationship then after finding out about the affair she should make the switch to more powerful silhouettes perhaps showing more skin if her goal is to get gabriel back in the previous season they at least played around a bit with a character wearing asymmetric dresses ruffled collars and sheer blouses but now her looks consistently have the same blocky silhouette monochrome colors and solid fabrics making her a forgettable presence when she's on screen the most interesting ensemble she wears is a cut out dress by san luron which was also worn by haley bieber and olivia rodrigo but of course we can barely see it considering this was at a drag performance before she finds out that emily has been involved with gabriel this feels like far too show-stopping an outfit for the occasion as for mindy her style is just as confusing as it was the first season despite being the daughter of a literal chinese billionaire she's constantly dressed like she's about to go clubbing in vegas or miami if you look at actual chinese heiresses like natasha lao wendy you or annabelle yao you'll notice that their style is glamorous and sophisticated it's possible that the costume designers for emily and paris were trying to make her look more new money but with all of her neons fringe studs and sequins mindy just looks messy i'd also like to point out that her wardrobe makes no sense for what her character is going through this season she's unemployed and working for literal spare change she shouldn't be wearing thousand dollar necklaces and gucci tank tops especially since she hasn't been paying rent while staying with emily sell those damn chanel earrings girl and stop being a freeloader there are a few items that mindy wears that are on the more affordable side of things like this zara bustier or this pretty little thing dress but i wish the costume department had committed obviously they didn't need to dress her in rags but it would have been interesting to see her economic struggles actually affect how she's able to dress and i'm sorry but what the hell is this outfit now it's time to talk about miss emily herself when lily collins was asked about the character's wardrobe for season 2 she said quote emily still loves colors prints textures and shapes this season but she's a little more settled in who she is here in paris there's an elevated slightly parisian flair about her now influenced by old french cinema and her new friends we've incorporated more purples violets yellows chartreuses bold colors but nothing too overwhelming i'm afraid i'll have to disagree on that last bit while it's true that emily's style is less on the nose she isn't showing up to the office with the eiffel tower on her shirt or wearing giant berets it's still just as busy and disjointed as ever i have two big problems when it comes to emily's outfits the first is that she refuses to accept that she dresses strangely and the second is that they don't make sense for her character diving into the first point there have been many characters in film and tv who've dressed unconventionally harper finkel from wizards of waverly place lou clark in me before you betty suarez and ugly betty but all of these characters acknowledge that they dress differently than other people but they say that it's what makes them happy emily acts as though she's at the forefront of fashion and is astounded when people say otherwise if she acknowledged that she liked dressing this way it would make her far less frustrating to watch as for the second point i think it's important to note that emily is a marketing executive working in paris where the average salary for that position is about 75 000 a year last season alone emily wore over a hundred thousand dollars worth of chanel from a sheer economic standpoint she wouldn't be able to afford all of the designer items that she wears at least mindy and camille are from wealthy families their clothes can be explained emily is just some random girl from chicago walking around in thousand dollar dresses at least carrie bradshaw's ridiculously expensive wardrobe was explainable with a stretch of the imagination her apartment was rent controlled she received ridiculously good rates for her column and you know she eventually wound up in debt because of her shoe problem emily's situation makes no damn sense especially considering her character actually says oh all while wearing a 600 blazer emily wears a few items from collaborative collections like this john batista volley h m dress or these melissa vivian westwood heels and i wish we'd seen more of that as it would have been a better fit for her character from both a financial and personal point of view moving on from the dissonance between her character and the wardrobe the outfits themselves are a lot to look at but at least they occasionally have deeper meanings in the first season of emily in paris we saw quite a few odes to audrey hepburn including this moment that pays homage to funny face this is repeated in the new season we're on her trip to sancho pay emily wears a few outfits inspired by charade and two for the road two of audrey's other french films with the latter actually being set in san tropez it might seem like a stretch at first glance but trust me the similarities are there just look at the accessories for this outfit or the color palette of this one i would even say that this horrendous blue hi-lo dress is a subtle ode to bridget bardos and god created woman which coincidentally also took place in san tropez when i first saw photos of this heart ensemble i was absolutely astounded by how tacky it was but interestingly enough in the context of the show it works with a character hosting an event that is essentially commercializing love as well as it being her first sort of date with alfie why can't the costume designers do this more often of course on her birthday she has to be dressed as a present with a giant bow and everything but i do wish he'd had on a pair of opera gloves to bring the look to the next level especially considering emily wears gloves a ridiculous amount of times this season interestingly enough the leather fingerless gloves that she sports with numerous outfits are actually from a collaboration with patricia field and seymour do with that what you will a small touch that i noticed this season was how emily's clothing made reappearances in the set design with a character ironing things she'd already worn and having an entire rack of clothing from the past season in her room it shows the audience that she isn't existing in a bubble where her clothes automatically disappear when she's done wearing them and it's also a fun easter egg for fans of the show it's honestly a really great addition it does raise the question why isn't she re-wearing things i'd personally love to see some of these past items make reappearances on the show showing how her style has changed as she's evolved now if you watched my previous review of emily in paris you can probably tell that i far preferred this season and i actually found myself laughing at several points throughout the show i think if you go into the show thinking of it as that a comedy then you might have a good time just don't expect to see any healthy romances interesting plot developments or characters you're gonna root for considering how much it's improved i have to admit i have pretty high hopes for the third season what were your thoughts on emily in paris and what do you think is gonna happen in the next season i hope you enjoyed this video don't forget to like and subscribe and i'll see you soon bye [Music] [Music] you

Channel: ModernGurlz

Views: 505,747

Keywords: style, modern gurlz, fashion, movie review, movie commentary, moderngurlz, review, movies, Film analysis, movie analysis, analysis, video essay, trivia, movie reviews, tv theory, cinema, television, entertainment, deep meaning, tv answers, disney, disney live action, live action reboot, ranking, ranking movies, costume design, fashion analysis, style analysis, lily collins, french girl style, emily in paris, emily in paris season 2, paris, french fashion, ashley park, netflix

Id: XXYfao1C9e0

Length: 30min 32sec (1832 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 27 2021