The Devil Wears Prada: Devilishly Delightful

The Devil Wears Prada (starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep) is a charming, fun escape into the darker side of the fashion industry. It’s a coming of age story about a girl taking on a new job with the boss from hell - or should I say Runway Magazine?

Her character Andy Sachs is just a step away from applying to Auto-Universe in desperate attempt to become a journalist. Though she has no interest in fashion, and she’s never heard of Runway or its editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, she applies for the job of second assistant. Miranda’s first assistant, Emily, wants nothing to do with Andy and starts to dismiss her, but Miranda quickly over-rules her saying that the first two assistants Emily sent her were incompetent. 

Soon, Andy realizes that she has bit off more than she can chew and she is spending her days running around franticly: to get coffee, coordinate meetings, borrow the advance copy of Harry Potter, visit showrooms, and get “the book” (a mock-up of the current magazine) ready for Miranda. 

What was great about the film-adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s book is that it was realistic and subtly acted. Scenes that could have been over-the-top were artfully done and colored with a richness that would not have been present without Meryl Streep. She is fabulous as the domineering Miranda Priestly. 

Streep’s performance is so magnificent that at the end of The Devil Wears Prada you come to love the woman who you hated with a passion in the first hour of the movie. Miranda Priestly fleshes out into a 3 dimensional person with wants, needs, and complex emotions that do not take away from her ruthlessness.