The Devil Wears Prada: Good Movie but Not Really a Hit
Andy, a timid, polite girl, shows up for an interview at one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in New York (yes, Anne Hathaway has been type-cast again). From the first moments, it’s easy to see that Andrea is way out of her league. She is not the typical up-to-the-moment fashion snob that most of the employees are. As she states, she doesn’t fit in with the “clackers” (the sound the high heels make on the marble floors). She runs with a bohemian-esque crowd, an artist, a research analyst, and a chef boyfriend.
Though Andy is obviously out-of-place, Miranda shocks everyone by hiring her-and turns out to be the ultimate boss from hell (as the title implies). Special coffee orders, unreasonable deadlines, and being unable to move from the desk are just the beginning of the horrors for Andy. As the movie progresses, late night phone calls become the norm, and at one point (after Miranda becomes annoyed at Andrea), Miranda demands a particular unreleased manuscript for her twin daughters (which I won’t give away, but let’s just say it might involve a little magic and broomsticks).
The Devil Wears Prada is basically a predictable movie, though entertaining. If nothing else, it reveals how great an influence fashion has on our society as a whole, as well as the ridiculous standards women (and more and more, men) are expected to live up to. In other words, what underlies the whole movie is a critique of the cultural obsession with beauty, fame, thinness, and fashion. And Andy certainly undergoes a transformation through the movie (sound familiar?), but unlike most of her other movies, this one turns out to be for the worse rather than for the better (at least the main one).
Though Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway do make a good pair, this movie may be another one to wait until it comes out on video to actually see. While entertaining and more than just another teeny-bop movie, I wouldn’t call it a hit, either.
