It had been nearly 20 years since I saw The Devil Wears Prada. With its reputation seeming to increase over the years, and with a sequel imminent, it felt like a good idea to take a re-watch. Anne Hathaway stars as Andrea “Andy” Sachs, an aspiring serious journalist who, despite no interest in the subject, snags a job at the top fashion magazine, Runway, edited by the fearsome Miranda Priestly, played by the Oscar nominated Meryl Streep.
My views of the fashion industry are the same as Andy’s, at the start of the movie, so I am not the natural audience for David Frankel’s comedy, and my opinion has mostly not changed since my last and only viewing. The satire is pretty gentle, with Aline Brosh McKenna’s screenplay, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger, holding back from anything truly biting and sometimes clumsily shoe horning in justifications of the absurdity of the fashion world, and those who take it really seriously.
What impressed me, this time around, were the performances. Not so much Streep, who I thought was coasting, but Hathaway, a performer who I have been critical of in the past, who nails her transformation. Stanley Tucci has a nice twinkle in his eye as fashion director Nigel Kipling, but it is Emily Blunt, who plays Emily Charlton, Miranda’s first assistant, who excels. She could have been a straight out villainous character, but Blunt gives her more depth and makes her sympathetic.
My other big impression is how very American the picture is. Jobs are prioritised over relationships or any aspects of personal lives, and it seems an accepted norm to be on call 24 hours a day. Something that has leaked into our culture over the years is that Andy’s mostly patient boyfriend, played by Adrian Grenier, is being described as more of the antagonist of the film than Miranda for questioning her work-life balance and not being supportive enough. That is baffling to me as she is not doing the job she wants, one that is basically a gopher to someone with an over inflated ego, and she sleeps with someone else at the first opportunity!
So, my opinion of what has become an iconic movie have not changed in the last couple of decades. It is watchable enough, with a few chuckles and impressive performances, but it does not resonate with me like it does its adoring fans.
The Devil Wears Prada can be seen on All 4, Disney Plus and is available on DVD/Blu-ray.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees the main cast members, Streep, Hathaway, Blunt, and Tucci reprise their roles, with Frankel and Brosh McKenna also returning. In the last two decades, Andy has forged a career as a real, award winning journalist. But when she is sacked, along with all her colleagues, she is finding it hard to get work until an opportunity to be the features editor at Runway presents itself. That is a reasonably neat way of bringing her back into contact with Miranda and Nigel, and soon she crosses paths with Emily who now works at Dior.
The plot unfolds much as you would expect. Miranda’s job comes under threat, and Andy tries to save it, and her own job in the process. There are again a few chortles and it is an agreeable watch, especially when Tucci and Hathaway are on screen together, showing off their great chemistry.
Ultimately, both movies share the same problem. They are trying to present themselves as biting satires of the fashion business but are anything but that. It feels like Frankel and Brosh McKenna are much too enthralled with the glamour and excess. That is demonstrated by the amount of insiders popping up in cameo appearances as themselves.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is currently on most screens in most cinemas and will be a box office smash.
Ratings out of 10:
The Devil Wears Prada: 6.5
The Devil Wears Prada 2: 6