Rom-coms come and go in waves, and even before Netflix starts cranking out another set of mushy festive movies, Miranda Cosgrove’s new film may feature The Wrong Paris, but it is hitting all the right chords with subscribers. The film did not take any time in pushing aside the mighty KPop Demon Hunters and aka Charlie Sheen to claim the top spot almost immediately.
The Wrong Paris takes its title to simplified excess as the film finds Dawn (Cosgrove), an aspiring artist who just got into a Paris, France art school, joining a reality dating show to snag the cash she needs, only to discover the production is set in Paris, Texas – aka the wrong Paris. Dawn is determined to get eliminated and take the check, so she tries to tank her screen time… until chemistry with the show’s “cowboy bachelor” (Pierson Fodé) complicates the plan.
The idea of throwing together a rom-com based around a trashy reality TV show and clichéd unlikely attraction storyline seems like it is destined to be completely slapped around by critics. However, it has instead fared pretty well, and landed a 60% Tomatometer score for its trouble. Yes, there are the usual gripes about over-used tropes and boring characters, but there are plenty of others that have called it a “delightful” and “lightweight piece of fun.” Sometimes, that is all you need, and having a hot cowboy on your clickable banner art clearly doesn’t do much harm either.
‘The Wrong Paris’ Divides Audiences, but It Is Still a Huge Success
Miranda Cosgrove headlines alongside Fodé, with supporting roles for Yvonne Orji, Frances Fisher, Madison Pettis, Hannah Stocking, Madeleine Arthur, Christin Park, and more. The movie is directed by Janeen Damian (who previously teamed with Netflix on Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish) from a script by Nicole Henrich.
The Wrong Paris has fared much better than many similar movies in its reviews. In fact, many of the audience reviews are glowing, with some calling it “a perfect girls night in” movie and others adding that they “absolutely loved it.” A handful of reviews note that you need to really suspend disbelief and ignore the romantic fantasy elements, but that is often a given in such movies.
Regardless, Netflix seems to be getting its late-in-the-year rom-com groove on early this year, but we will be seeing plenty more of this kind of movie frequenting the number one position as the nights get darker. Unfortunately, they probably won’t all be as watchable as The Wrong Paris has turned out to be.
The Wrong Paris
- Release Date
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September 12, 2025
- Runtime
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105 minutes
- Director
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Janeen Damian
- Writers
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Nicole Henrich
- Producers
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Brad Krevoy, Michael Damian, Amanda Phillips, Miranda Cosgrove, Jimmy Townsend
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Madison Pettis
Lexi Miller
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