The Devil Wears Prada Movie Review (original) (raw)

The Devil Wears Prada Review

By Joe Lozito

Clothed for Business

Depending on your point of view, I may either be the best person or the worst person to review "The Devil Wears Prada", the slick adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's best seller about the inner workings of fictional fashion magazine "Runway". I don't have much interest in the world of fashion, nor have I read Ms. Weisberger's book. However, with that in mind, it's to the film's credit that I still found it an enjoyable satire, as glossy and superficial as the industry it purports to skewer.

The film follows Andy Sachs, a wide-eyed Northwestern (though it was Brown in the novel) graduate who stumbles upon a job at Runway. And who better to play wide-eyed innocence than "The Princess Diaries'" Anne Hathaway. Ms. Hathaway wears the role of "every-girl" better than most, but for much of the film, as Andy keeps saying, she "has no choice" - which makes her less of a character than a plot device.

Runway is presided over by Miranda Priestly, a not so thinly-veiled avatar for "Vogue's" Anna Wintour. Meryl Streep pulls off another in her long list of acting feats - making Miranda both despicable and empathetic. The script gives her just barely enough emotion to still remain human, but Ms. Streep manages to inject so much understanding and humor into every gaze, every tilt of the head, every dismissive "that's all", that Miranda (amazingly) becomes the emotional center of the film. She just wants everyone to be as dedicated as she has been all her life. Is that too much to ask? Everything else is a disappointment. It's yet another fine performance.

Director David Frankel, who it's no surprise has worked on "Sex and the City" and "Entourage", gives the film a brisk pace. While the script by Aline Brosh McKenna has trouble sustaining the ferocity of Andy's first days at work, there are enough satirical jabs and knowing winks to keep the film going. Plus, the supporting cast is excellent, particularly Emily Blunt as Miranda's tightly-wound first assistant, and the wonderful Stanley Tucci as the only person at Runway to show Andy even a modicum of sympathy. Only Simon Baker, showing up as a flirtatiously slimy designer, seems out of place.

But make no mistake, "The Devil Wears Prada" wants to have it both ways. We're meant to mourn Andy's descent into a world so shallow and demeaning - where a size 6 makes you "fat" and the common cold is compared to "viral plague". But when Andy's transformation begins, spurred on naturally by a pair of Jimmy Choos, she enjoys it, and so does the film. And so, I'm afraid, does the audience. And likewise, Andy's ridiculously demanding work life is worn as a badge of honor. Yes, her private life (complete with cuddly boyfriend played by "Entourage's" oh-so-shaggy Adrian Grenier) suffers, but hey, that's what it takes to make it in this world. If you don't like it, as Andy is constantly reminded "a million girls would kill for this job." When Miranda says, "Everyone wants to be us," the film believes it. That's all.