The Devil Wears Prada 2
Review by Mark Woodring
20 years ago, Anne Hathaway’s Andrea Sachs fumbled her way into a job at Runway as an assistant to Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestley. What followed became a hit and a beloved movie for a great many people.
Though rumors of a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada were quick to follow, as success always dictates, nothing came of them until recently.
And now, this.
**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
119 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Aline Brosh McKenna, Lauren Weisberger
Directed by David Frankel
Synopsis:
As Miranda Priestly nears retirement, she reunites with Andy Sachs to face off against her former assistant turned rival: Emily Charlton.
It’s been 20 years, and on its face, this sequel feels more than a bit like a cynical Hollywood money-grab.
And while, admittedly, I am not the ideal demographic for this film, I found the original to be silly, serious, and entertaining enough to justify sitting through it again over the years as my wife watched it at any opportunity.
Kidding.
As I am generally leery of movie sequels that come far too late in the future from the original, I was ready to simply write this one off as too-little, so-late.
I’m looking at you, Gladiator II.
However, sequels such as Blade Runner 2049 and Top Gun: Maverick were pretty good, so it wasn’t inconceivable that The Devil Wears Prada 2 wouldn’t be a terrible time in the theater.
Imagine my surprise when the film opens with Andy winning a journalism award while being fired over text and making an impassioned plea about the need for traditional journalism versus the modern ideal of clicks and “engagement.”
Simultaneously, we see Miranda Priestly being hit with a scathing attack due to Runway running a glowing profile of an up-and-coming fashion label who are subsequently discovered to use sweatshop labor.
Oops.
Calls for Miranda’s head are everywhere: she’s “old” and “out of touch.”
Now we have Old-vs-New Journalism AND Cancel Culture in one film. A good start.
When Andy is hired by the owner of Runway to be the new Features Editor in an attempt to lend some gravitas to the magazine in what is clearly a PR move, she immediately butts heads with Miranda.
Fun!
What follows is another wacky adventure of Andy trying to validate her views on journalism while battling Miranda’s need to be in control, which is hilariously portrayed in a series of staff meetings as she battles the modern allowable speech, such as “body negative positive” models, lol.
Eventually, calamity falls upon Runway and Miranda, and Andy attempts to solve the problem with the help of one-time nemesis, Emily (Emily Blunt).
You can guess that not everything works out the way she expects it to.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is jam-packed with fashion, spending the last half of the film in Milan for a big Runway show, which is sure to appease the fans of that aspect of the original film, but it’s carried by the love the cast clearly have for their characters. They seem genuinely excited to be playing in this pond again, and that mostly overcomes any shortcomings of the script.
The film ends with a couple too-saccharine scenes, but anything else wouldn’t really have fit the world we’re in, even if one of them is a bit ridiculous (to me, at least).
And for the record, my wife enjoyed this one, as well, so there’s that.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 struts into theaters Friday, May 1 and stars Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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