The Devil Wears Prada

Review by: Doc

The movie resonates with anyone who has worked for a tyrannical and perfectionist boss...
This has been a summer of unfulfilled expectations for me. X-Men III was good, but not great, Superman Returns was, again, good but not outstanding. The “event” movies have been enjoyable but nothing to wax poetic over. There have been two exceptions to the rule, however. The first, Cars, I had hoped would be great, and it was even funnier than I hoped. But that’s another review.


The other is this film, The Devil Wears Prada. It has benefited, admittedly, from rather low expectations from the start. I had thought it looked amusing but it was on my “might see” list. My daughters, however, had great plans for opening night, so off I went. And frankly, it is very, very good.


Based on a novel loosely describing a real internship at Vogue under the legendary Anna Wintour, this is the story of a young woman struggling to make a mark in NY journalism who takes an internship at a fashion magazine called Runway headed up by equally legendary and dreaded Miranda Priestly. Wintour’s clout in the fashion world is so fearsome that the movie’s costumer ran into designers who refused to participate rather than risk her wrath and the possibility of being banned from Vogue.


The movie resonates with anyone who has worked for a tyrannical and perfectionist boss. In my internship and residency I worked with surgeons who would make Miranda Priestly look pale and easygoing so I really connected with this side of the film. Unfortunately, this also led to its weakest part. The reactions of her friends seemed unrealistic. Anyone who goes after a high-powered career knows the sacrifices made during the early years, ask any intern, and the lack of understanding which her boyfriend and other friends show seems to denigrate her efforts and show a remarkable lack of vision and understanding. Anyone going through this needs support and she had little.


Anne Hathaway, as Andy Sachs, is good as the struggling idealistic heroine but the jewels of this film are found in two other roles.


Stanley Tucci shines as Nigel, the flamboyant writer who rescues Sachs from her dowdy lack of fashion and explains the rules of her new world. In a scene at a table, which I will try to avoid spoiling, his understated reaction to betrayal is masterful.


The other soaring performance is Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly. She is, in a word, brilliant. The affectations with her sunglasses, the occasional twinkling of understanding in her eyes and the constant questioning as to her eventual humanity is marvelously done. Watch for her line to Hathaway in the back of a limo, “Don’t be silly dear, everyone wants to be us.” It is outstanding.


I may see it again. This gets 4 of 5 scalpels and an amazed phalanx up.



Doc Hollywood

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