christine b

I'll totally watch this, but I have a rant on language. As someone who lived in France for ten years I really wish they could have found a plot where the whole thing didn't hinge on an American making a complete fool of herself all the while thinking she's making a serious friggin' attempt at assimilating (like, she makes it clear she can't speak a lick of French but then is like, "Oui, I'd liked this," or, "Have un bon journee." Puke. There are plenty of people in Paris who do not speak French - this wasn't comical. This wasn't cute. It's an insult to the French language (mostly bc French people never think any American cares enough or grew up in a country where language, art, and culture are valued) and any American who has actually worked their butt off to learn the language." Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse from a linguistic point of view - ten minutes from the end of the first episode, they have a Chinese-Korean nanny run across the screen screaming at children in possibly the worst Mandarin Chinese I have ever heard in my life (I also lived in China for two years). She wasn't using any tones and it was absolutely clear that she had been spoon fed her lines. Are there no Chinese-American actresses who actually did grow up speaking both English and Chinese that they could have cast? After, the reaction at the baker's reaction at her request for poorly pronounced pain au chocolate was so accurate, it was funny. There are things here... and yes, I like a good chic flic - I"ll likely grimace through the language bits and watch on. :P