‘Devil’ — fun, but superficial (3/5)

The Devil Wears Prada

Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt.
Directed by: David Frankel.
Rating: PG-13 for some sensuality.
Running time: 1 hours, 39 minutes.

Looking for a fun little chick flick? “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) is it, but not much more.

The movie itself is actually great, but it’s what they left out that plummets this movie back into the realm of typical.

“Prada” follows the course of Andy Sachs’ (Anne Hathaway) assistant tenure under the indomitable Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), editor-in-chief of Runway, the nation’s leading fashion magazine.

Andy makes no mistake — she doesn’t fit into this world of makeup, dressup, overbearing stress and 10-inch waists. But, as she tells Miranda at her interview, she’s smart.

After landing the job, Andy struggles to keep up in the fast-paced life of fashion and New York City, only to realize that her best efforts aren’t good enough. She seeks help from a fellow assistant, the conceited and pompous Emily (Emily Blunt), and from the magazine’s creative director, the harsh but kind-hearted Nigel (Stanley Tucci), but eventually realizes that the only person who can help her at her job is herself.

Andy undergoes a physical transformation to better fit in to the crowd of Runway and to show Miranda her serious intentions, and it isn’t long before she begins a mental and emotional change as well, sending her life careening into a pile of trendy handbags and designer scarves.

One aspect that David Frankel absolutely nailed was the casting. Every actor was sublime in her role. Meryl Streep simply is the boss from hell, but she also brings a sense of depth to Miranda that makes her seem like a real person rather than a horrific compilation of everything awful in a superior. Too, Anne Hathaway is the perfect go-to actress for a naive girl who undergoes a transformation.

The movie’s absolute scene stealer, however, is Emily Blunt. I had seen her before in “The Jane Austen Book Club,” and I look forward to a long and productive career from her.

One of the movie’s central themes of women in the workplace was insightful and refreshing.


Throughout high school and college, and now with my first “real” job, I have always been a work-oriented girl — and, through trial and error, have learned how work and life can never be truly separated. “Prada” shows the integration of life and work, and how one must be careful to not allow one to overcome the other.

In “The Devil Wears Prada,” the movie manages to capture an abhorrent work environment and yet keep the tone of the film light and fun. But, in doing so, many things fell by the wayside.

The most noticeable issue (as could be expected in a movie regarding the fashion industry) is weight. Nigel tells Andy that her size 6 is now considered a “size 14,” and there are countless insinuations about her size being a detriment throughout the script, including Miranda flat out calling her “fat.”

The movie addresses clothes as being a superficial element, but barely brushes on the absurd and unhealthy weight loss that so many in the industry feel forced to do. And even Andy celebrates becoming a size 4 near the end of the movie. With so many people, even those in the film’s target audience, struggling with weight issues and the feeling of self-consciousness, this should have been a point of higher value.

Too, the reconciliation between Andy and her boyfriend seemed lacking. Andy’s boyfriend, Nate, had a greater presence than I was expecting — up until the end. In fact, here her other friends who had been made to seem important in Andy’s life and as sources of love and support are inexplicably missing as well.

But, for its weaknesses, “Prada” was a fun watch and offered some neat insights into the fashion industry.

3 of 5 stars