Review of The Devil Wears Prada (2006) by Rick B — 03 Apr 2012

This film surprised me on a number of levels. I expected it to be kinda hollow, the way most movies about fashion tend to be. But fashion isn't glorified for very long in The Devil Wears Prada. It's all about the characters.

Anne Hathaway is playing a more fleshed out version of the girl she played in The Princess Diaries. She goes from being frumpy to fashionable, but this change is a negative one. She's very appealing and she suits the role perfectly.

But man, oh man Meryl Streep. Meryl Fucking Streep. I swear she's a chemeleon. She's downright scary in this film when she needs to be, but we see just about the perfect amount of her soul so that she comes off as being three-dimensional. Credit goes to the writers AND Streep for pulling that one off.

The story is poignant and timely; we are a mass-consumer society and it gives what is probably an accurate glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of these mulit-billion dollar companies. I can't wait for the upcoming biopic on Steve Jobs.

What I didn't like was how we are suppose to sympathize with the Emily character. She is a bitch; hardly anything redeamable. Yet we are suppose to feel sad or in some kind of moral dilema when Hathaway has to betray her. It's actually a huge part of the story, and it feels forced because Emily doesn't deserve her sympathy or ours as audience members. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Dont' think that just because it seems to be marketed toward women that it will be a hollow chick-flick that glorifies fashion and air-headedness. It's witty, well acted, and especially well written.