There is something about Paris that is magical. When you go there, you find a piece of yourself that is alive there. It’s a piece of you that you weren’t sure if it was alive or dead, but it starts beating. It’s a piece of you that sometimes is only alive in Paris, but it’s okay. Because it means that you’ll keep going back to find it. It’s a part of you that draws you back to the city. At least that is what I think.
But maybe that’s because that’s the way it’s been for me.
So when you’re combining a few of my favorite things – Paris, Hallmark, and Bethany Joy Lenz – you know that I am going to watch. The cheese aspect – well I don’t get it, but I don’t like cheese the way most people do. Savoring Paris reminded me of something instantly though – how in America a lot of us are burnt out, fighting for a way to feel calm or to relish in something, and feeling under appreciated. It’s a crazy weird thing to see that play out on the screen, especially if it’s something that you’re going through right now.
While some would consider Savoring Paris a love letter to the city itself, I considered it a love letter to ones self and a reminder that it’s never to late to find your home.
In Savoring Paris, Ella is experiencing burnout, pressure, and disappointment. Her job – well, she’s embarrassed to be working there and they don’t take her ideas seriously, which makes it worse. After they ruin a recipe that she thought of, she’s had enough and decides that she needs a vacation. So where better to go than Paris?
When she was younger she had gone to Paris. She had eaten a “life changing” piece of cheese and she has never forgotten it. Returning to Paris, she instantly wants to find comté cheese again and recapture that moment. What she runs into is a cheesemonger who is put off because she’s American.
Ella doesn’t let that stop her. She’s determined to find herself in the matter of the two weeks that she has there. She returns to the place that the cheese changed her life, is hit on by a hot young man with the most attractive eyes, and is taken a back in the best way. Ella got her groove back and she didn’t even realize it.
She sublets a room from Clotilde, who seems like the worlds most perfect roommate. Clotilde is eccentric and beautiful and filled with life. She encourages Ella to find herself and stay in Paris. Ella, like most of us, just kept repeating that she couldn’t quit her job and stay in Paris. But, Clotilde just kept asking why not.
And it’s true, why not?
As we’re watching the movie, we’re seeing Ella come into her own and one thing that I absolutely loved is that a lot of that is done through fashion. As much as I hate to admit it, a lot of times we can tell how a person feels based off how they present themselves. At first Ella is sad and defeated. It comes across in her jeans and hoodie, as well as the baseball cap. As she starts to grow, she puts more effort into herself – opening up and allowing herself to feel alive. She changes the color added into her wardrobe and her hair comes down. You can see Ella’s evolution through her outward and inward appearance. It’s a beautiful thing to see.
But it also draws you deeper into the movie. Now, I am not saying that if you go around wearing sweats and leggings and dark colors, you are depressed or defeated. What I am saying is that using the wardrobe and fashion as a device to show growth was a great plot device.
Ella, in her quest to keep finding herself and try all of the cheese that she can, talks the cheesemonger into giving her an internship. She may not speak french, but that doesn’t matter to her. She wants to learn and to my shock, he gives her the job. It’s through this internship that she starts to learn what she wants out of life and in turn teaches him what he wants.
There are people that change everyone and well, Ella is one of those people. Seeing her grow inspires everyone around her. Including her overbearing Mom, who comes to visit and tries to pressure her into coming home. She only wants to talk about her coming home and all Ella wants to do is talk about the possibilities.
Some of us are meant to be dreamers and find ourselves through adventure. Some of us wander and find ourselves that way. Neither way is wrong. All they are is a different way of looking at life. What matters is that you are doing it for yourself. Seeing Ella’s Mom accuse her of wanting to stay in France for the men in her life and well, that made me mad.
It made me mad because watching this movie, I had seen Ellas growth and her understanding of who she is and what she wants. Yes, she has deep feelings for the cheesemonger, Serge. Yes, she had been dating the food critic, Gaston. But what we really see is a woman who was reminded that she’s worthy of love and regardless of all of the relationships in her life that she had seen fail – she was worthy of one that succeeds.
And that really didn’t mean that it had to be a relationship built on falling in love with someone else. First Ella had to learn to love herself and she did just that. I don’t even think that it was that she remembered who she was. I think for Ella it was the first time in her life that she figured out who she was supposed to be.
No one can bring to life a character growing this way – the way that Bethany Joy Lenz can. Now, I have to admit that at first her voice in this movie threw me off. I felt like I was listening to the calm app. It was so peaceful. However, Lenz has this way with the characters that she brings to life of making you forget it’s her and actually believing that it’s a real persons life that you are watching. She falls into her characters, making each unique and beautifully flawed and pieced together. She makes them real, which makes it easier for the viewer to find themselves or something to relate to in the character.
Not all actors are able to do just that.
Walking away from Savoring Paris, I have to say, I still am anti-cheese, but I am pro finding yourself. It doesn’t have to be Paris. Not everything is an Eat, Pray, Love international moment. Sometimes it’s taking a moment to reevaluate your life and find what it is that you want and go after it where you are.
But no matter what, it’s okay to find it, chase it, and embrace it. No matter your age, no matter your gender – you are entitled to a life well lived.
After all (well depending on your beliefs) you only live once.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Gaston has the best eyes ever, but I truly can’t get over his name
- Paris is such a beautiful city
- Had to laugh over the “i love you” confusion, because I woulda been confused too
- Loved the fashion
- One of the best things about Paris is the doors. Well it’s one thing that I love.
- Stanley Weber, who plays Serge, is my new crush.
- I loved the way that no one would speak French with her and then over time did a little bit
- Savoring Paris is a great movie that continues to push Hallmark’s boundaries and I for one, am loving their growth also
Adored this sweet movie!