Devil Wears Prada (2006)

This clever, funny big-screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's best-seller takes some of the snarky bite out of the chick lit book, but smoothes out the characters' boxy edges to make a more satisfying movie. There's no doubt The Devil Wears Prada belongs to Meryl Streep, who turns in an Oscar-worthy (seriously!) strut as the monster editor-in-chief of Runway, an elite fashion magazine full of size-0, impossibly well-dressed plebes. This makes new second-assistant Andrea (Anne Hathaway), who's smart but an unacceptable size 6, stick out like a sore thumb. Streep has a ball sending her new slave on any whimsical errand, whether it's finding the seventh (unpublished) Harry Potter book or knowing what type she means when she wants "skirts." Though Andrea thumbs her nose at the shallow world of fashion (she's only doing the job to open doors to a position at The New Yorker someday), she finds herself dually disgusted yet seduced by the perks of the fast life. The film sends a basic message: Make work your priority, and you'll be rich and powerful... and lonely. Any other actress would have turned Miranda into a scenery-chewing Cruella, but Streep's underplayed, brilliant comic timing make her a fascinating, unapologetic character. Adding frills to the movie's fun are Stanley Tucci as Streep's second-in-command, Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love) as the overworked first assistant, Simon Baker as a sexy writer, and breathtaking couture designs any reader of Vogue would salivate over. -- Ellen A. Kim

Beyond The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel

The Devil Wears Prada Soundtrack

Prada Handbags

Stills from The Devil Wears Prada (click for larger image)

Amazon.com

Less than expected

From the widespread raves, you'd think this fairly thin coming of age tale was Shakespeare. It's not. It's an adaptation of a book I never read, but the title was slapped onto the movie to help sell it without any true reference to it in the film. Meryl Streep is the one to watch here. Her performance is outstanding. But the rest is rather cliched slapstick. I expected something more sophisticated. Silly me. August 26, 2008

It's fluff, but it's good fluff

As has been said in other reviews, it is truly the stellar cast and acting of this film that make it wonderful. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the fluffy plot would bomb. But the actors are fresh, funny, and very much into making the movie work. Most of the joy of watching this is indeed the actors and their corresponding characters.

But do not be mistaken by the fluffy plot comment. While I'm sure that this is the type of movie that would drive many nuts, those that can appreciate simple light-hearted goodness will enjoy this. It's funny, sweet, and, while not carrying too much in the way of complexity, packs plenty of heart.

It's fun to watch, and Hathaway and Streep have amazing banter. If that's all you need to like a movie, this will work well. August 24, 2008

Obnoxious, vapid, nihilistic train wreck.

I agreed to watch this movie under the erroneous assumption that the director was going for something here, but that was likely due to my enduring and foolish optimism. I expected it to at least try to say something about crass consumerism and the ostentatious waste which fuels, along with gossip pages, our trend-obsessed culture. However tired the anticipated moral might be, and however saccharine we may expect its delivery to be based on the dozens of movies which have tackled the same subject, I was going to give the movie a chance. But, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. I learned from this movie that it is better to conform to each cynical expectation which is placed upon you and to do it with such devotion and skill that you sacrifice everything else and, in the end, earn a grudging nod from someone with every cluster B personality disorder in the DSM. The movie made it a point to miss every opportunity to introduce some fallout or some consequence for becoming a self-absorbed toadie, and seems to do so deliberately. The worst we see in the movie is an extremely amiable break-up, once which seems to be the completion in any case of the plot of the all-too-common female fantasy of the innocuous castrated male best-friend/boyfriend roulade. And always, at all times, everything is done with the kinds of effusive displays of emotionalism that lead me to think that everyone in this movie is histrionic enough that they really do get some kind of life-affirming revelation from their gelato. As the movie dragged on, I realized that I was watching a slideshow of carefully packaged cliches, all calculated to sell to the kinds of shallow, deluded, self-absorbed Cosmo readers who raid the stacks at the local bookstores for books with pithy titles rendered in flowing script above a trendy picture of a skinny girl with boots, sunglasses, and a purse with a tiny little designer dog shoved inside. The movie wasn't meant to lambaste or parody anything. It wasn't meant to have a moral. It was calculated to win with focus groups and demographics. It was a script written in adspeak for women who are all too ready to parody themselves and think it "empowering". I'd watch this movie only if you desire to have your opinion of your fellow naked apes diminished even further. August 10, 2008

When you work for the devil, anything goes

We all know the boss. The man/woman who knows it all and tramples on everyone. I've worked for her; you probably have too.
"The Devil Wears Prada" is the "simple" story of a young college graduate, Andy (Anne Hathaway), trying to find a job. She looks at a fashion magazine, Runway, whose editor-in-chief, Miranda (Meryl Streep), is so harsh that girls who last one year as her assistant are granted "any job they set their heart on". The problem? Andy is so not into fashion, it's not funny. And Miranda is, well..."difficult".
I was unsure if I would actually enjoy the film. I had heard mixed reviews. But after finally seeing it for myself, I realized that on the whole, I enjoyed it. Anne Hathaway has the "My Fair Lady" role down-pat. Emily Blunt is very appealing as Emily, the desperate assistant. Even the actor who plays Nigel is charming. But Meryl Streep as Miranda is the star of the show. She steals the screen every time she appears, with enormous presence, a cool gaze, and her quiet, demanding voice.
The other characters are weak. We as the audience are supposed to be rooting for Andy to spend more time with them, but when her boyfriend, Nate, acts like a baby when she has to work on his birthday, you can't help but dislike them. When Nate says it would be better for her to be a pole stripper with integrity (what the...?!) than what she is, you want to kick him where the sun don't shine.
The plot is not complicated, well done, but the big "turning points" can be seen a mile away (such as Andy's conversion to fashion, her being chosen to go to Paris, and her eventual quitting). The clothes are beautiful (well, some of them are odd, but that's coming from a Wal-Mart girl :) ), the pacing perfect, and the scenery (particularly Paris) beautiful. There is some foul language, a scene where a woman gets hit by a car, some allusions to eatin disorders, and some sexual situations, but nothing particularly glaring.
Overall, I liked the film. It is a great story of a young woman trying to justify her job with her morals. While I did not like how her friends (particularly her boyfriend) did not understand that sometimes you have to do things you don't like (aka your job) to pay the rent (and get the expensive purses that your friend gets from work) and that fun things will have to come later, it is a really good movie that showcases Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway's talents. July 26, 2008

The Movie is Much Better than the Book

The film adaptation for the novel, made this a much more interesting story line, and much more believable than the novel. For those that have read the book, you'll probably like the move better as it's a better story.

The casting for this moving was pretty right on, however the casting for the character Christian seemed way off. While charming, he was much older and much less attractive than expected - I and found it a little unvbelievable that he would turn Andie's head in any way. I had actually hoped this character would have a bigger role in the movie based on what I read in the book. This character could have been removed from the movie and wouldn't have made a different. Because of the casting, he should have been.

Meryl Streep is fabulous and nails this character perfectly as does Ann Hathaway. The clothes in the movie are great and it's a great story - just not one of the best movies ever. I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5. July 21, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...