I’m not going to lie, when I first saw the poster for The Wrong Paris, I worried it was going to be like one of those banned (for me) adult novels I used to see everywhere when I was a child. However, I was pleasantly surprised by The Wrong Paris, and I think you will be too. The film tells the story of a young Southern girl who dreams of going to Paris (the one in France) for art school but can’t afford it. She is, of course, the elder sister with two young siblings and a grandmother to look after, so she’s got too much on her mind anyway. However, when she gets an acceptance letter to her big dream school, her sister suggests she go on a reality show called “The Honey Pot.” What follows is an interesting behind-the-scenes kind of film where we get to see this Southern girl try to go places. Will she make it to the real Paris, or will she be stuck in Texas forever? Well, you’ll have to wait and see.
First things first, this movie is genuinely funny in bits and doesn’t shy away from being kooky and going little too far with its girl-on-girl competition. The reality show setup is the perfect excuse to make for great drama, not just while the show is being shot, but also when the cameras aren’t rolling. However, I would be lying if I said the stuff on the show itself isn’t superbly entertaining. You’ve got everything from horse riding, mechanical-bull rodeos, “catfights,” and some sweet romantic moments as well. Oh, and then there’s a whole scene where we get to watch a man sensually bathe a horse, so that was quite fun. But jokes aside, this movie is unafraid of being unserious, which is what makes it actually fun.
The story is simple and predictable, but that’s what we like about these movies. There’s great chemistry in the cast, even between those who hate each other. It almost gives off the vibe of films like The Bridesmaids, but way sober and PG-13. I don’t know which category to put it under because it feels like a little bit of everything: Hallmark, Disney (or we could say Nickelodeon for Miranda’s sake), and Netflix-y all at once. This makes it wildly generic but charming at the same time. A little earlier in the year, I watched a Hallmark movie called Romance In Style, and it had me thinking we need more low-budget romance movies that could easily be confused with blue pictures. This is obviously a joke, because there’s nothing blue about the films, but it’s kind of funny.
The Wrong Paris is short, it’s funny, it’s fast-paced, and it doesn’t miss a line-dancing beat, although I wish there was some line dancing in it, because that would’ve made it perfect. I must admit, I didn’t expect it to have such a high budget with all the horses, fancy living arrangements, and the gorgeous dresses that the contestants wear before being thrown off the show. I’m telling you, it’s a good time, and it has no business being so fun. However, at the end of the day, none of these movies are genuinely memorable because they lack the sort of spark we used to have even 20 years ago. Maybe it’s just that we’ve seen all that romance has to offer, or maybe it’s because these are specifically made for OTT, so they’re dumbed down and follow the same patterns, meaning we don’t have to actually pay attention to still know what’s going to happen next.
Miranda Cosgrove still looks like her childhood self, and she’s still as fun as an adult. The thing I’d have changed in the film is to make her character, Dawn, a little bit older, just because it would’ve made more sense in my opinion. She’s got great chemistry with Pierson Fode, who plays Trey, the main attraction of this film and, well, the show that it’s covering. Fode plays a fantastic cowboy, and the twang’s all there, whether it’s the right Paris or the wrong one. Plus, we get to see his abs on display VERY often.
I think the film manages to lock us in with the very trending topic of reality dating TV, where shows like The Bachelor have been going for decades at this point. I, for one, have never watched a single episode, but I have dabbled in other shows like Love Is Blind UK and a few of the others on streaming giants because it seems to be what people are truly enjoying these days. It took me a while to understand why, but now that I’ve seen a fair few, I can say I’ve started to wrap my head around it. There’s a level of outrage and simultaneous love you feel for these people, who you don’t know or don’t care about, but it makes for great TV. The movie combines that reality TV rawness with your typical rom-com, making the overall film less saccharine and more fighting in slush.
At the end of the day, I can’t deny the movie’s entertaining, and it could be because of my slight bias towards Miranda Cosgrove. There are some really interesting sequences in the film that are absolutely unexpected, but other than that, it’s quite tame and generic. However, it’s a fun background watch, and if you like a good, strong, independent, elder daughter situation, you’ll definitely like The Wrong Paris. So, with that said, I’ll give The Wrong Paris 3 out of 5 stars (but maybe take my opinion with a grain of salt because the bar was set really low).
