Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Directed by David Frankel
Andrea: "But what if this isn't what I want? I mean what if I don't wanna live the way you live?"
Miranda: "Oh, don't be ridiculous. Andrea. Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us."
With a sequel due in theatres in less than a month's time, I just knew that I had to go back and watch the original itself. Can you believe it's been nearly twenty years since this movie? A part of me didn't but then I watched and realised how it's very much a product of its time.
Instead of Vogue and Anna Wintour, you've got Runway and the similarly fearsome editor in chief, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). This was a woman who'd terrifying even the hardest of men and also inspired the fiercest of loyalty to boot. Two things that our protagonist of the piece felt for Miranda.
The protagonist being aspiring journalist Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), who found herself working at Runway as the number two to the recently appointed number one Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt). I'm talking assistants here. Emily's both trying her best to be helpful to Andrea while at the same time deriding the fact that the latter had no interest in the fashion industry.
Andrea's lack of interest in fashion led to that cerulean speech from Miranda that gave someone as fashion unconscious as myself food for thought. I felt personally attacked during that scene. Anyways, Andrea forming a friendship with fashion director Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) did result in a bit of a makeover.
If there's only thing this film completely failed at, it was it's attempts of trying to make Anne Hathaway look dowdy before the character glow up. She's stunningly beautiful and Andrea had a chef boyfriend in Nate Cooper (Adrian Grenier) and an admirer in journalist Christian Thompson (Simon Baker). The latter in particular was rather helpful in getting Andrea a certain manuscript for her.
As the film progressed, there's a shift between Andrea and Miranda. Both women were more alike and while the latter could admit it, the former didn't seem like the idea. Saying that, Andrea made the right career decision and it was one that even Miranda respected her for making. Even Emily grew to grudgingly respect Andrea by the end of this movie.
- The film's based on a novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger. That novel had two sequels to it.
- Andrea was run ragged trying to get the Harry Potter manuscript. A year after this movie came out, I remember the queue in my town for that book.
- There's some nice supporting performances from Tracie Thoms, Richard Sommer and Daniel Sunjata to name a few.
- Miranda's actually British in the book but American here. She's got twin daughters and was getting divorced towards the end of the movie.
- Standout music: Madonna's Vogue and Jump as well as KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See.
- Chronology: Andrea worked for Miranda for less than a year before changing to a new place.
The Devil Wears Prada easily could've veered too much into a parody of the brutality of the fashion industry but it hit the correct mark instead. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are all excellent. It's genuinely funny from start to finish.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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