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Shelf Beauties |
The Devil Wears Prada Buying
a ticket to The
Devil Wears Prada
instead of going to Superman Returns
this week is like ordering
pizza on Thanksgiving Day. Yes,
it will
be tasty, but EVERYONE is eating turkey and stuffing. The
Devil Wears Prada
looks like the classic
counter-programming movie designed to draw in ladies who have zero
interest in
seeing The Man of Steel in a theater full of comic book guys wearing
their red
capes and tight little red underpants.
However, to call the movie a simple chick flick or
modern day escapist
fantasy is a ridiculous notion. It's a funny and dramatic
look at the
working world, and what an employee is willing to do to climb their way
up the
ladder, while battling a boss from hell.
Anne Hathaway stars as Andy - a new college graduate armed with an extensive and serious portfolio full of the hard core journalism work she finished while at the school newspaper, but, somehow, she has ended up in a job she could never have imagined. Instead of writing for The New Yorker or some such hard news source, Andy has just been hired to be the 2nd assistant for the acclaimed, legendary and slightly psychotic editor of Runway magazine, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). "A million girls would kill for that job," because one year with Miranda is like writing your ticket to fame and fortune, but Andy starts to wonder what she has gotten herself into as talent and ability seem to matter less than what she wears, how her hair looks or how quickly she can get the boss's coffee in the morning. Will Andy be able to fight the system at Runway, or become part of it to survive and thrive? Will she alienate her friends and boyfriend (Adrian Grenier) in the process? I
was worried about the movie being a bit over the top, but that's what
you get
for trusting movie trailers and commercials designed to appeal to the
lowest
common denominator, even when the film is as smart, funny and good
as The
Devil Wears Prada
(based on the it-might-be-true novel written by Lauren Weisberger,
who worked for Vogue’s
Anna Wintour. Weisberger claims Miranda is not Wintour,
but I would say that, too, since Wintour could still DESTROY
HER!). It's
not a complete yuk-it-up broad comedy, but a well written battle of
wills and
cultures as Andy, who thinks everything about fashion is silly and she
should
be using her brain more, battles with Miranda, whose whole life is
dedicated to
good appearance and paying your dues the way she sees fit. You’ll also
laugh your head off. Meanwhile, Hathaway is a fantastic
heroine as the smart, pretty young lady
finds herself under fire for everything including what she wears, how
she looks
and her attitude about the job. Andy has been dropped into
the middle of
a catty world with openly nasty co-workers, but the audience roots for
her as
she tries to master the new world, and manage to keep her old world
together,
especially her relationship with the boyfriend. Hathaway has
the girl next
door appeal that makes her into the underdog you want to help when the
chips
are down, but also finds the character’s personal strength,
so she is perfect
for this role (and the role of my future wife.
Now that Kidman is off the market, I need to move on
and find a new
movie star crush. It’s
either Hathaway,
Natalie Portman or Naomi Watts. Decisions, decisions, decisions). The
Devil Wears Prada also
features some strong and memorable performances from
the supporting cast. Even
Stanley Tucci
gets to show off his comedic side as Nigel - the magazine’s
Art Director who
takes a liking to Andy and acts like her surrogate Dad. Tucci adeptly,
subtly and
effortlessly drops one-liners that cause the audience to explode in
laughter,
but, much like Streep, knows when to deliver the goods and really
captivate us
when he makes a big speech to Andy about her attitude and expectations. It’s the kind of
speech just about every
young person has to face at one time or another in their careers. Plus, let’s
deliver kudos to Emily Blunt as
Miranda’s 1st Assistant, Emily. She perfectly captures the
siege mentality and post
traumatic stress
disorder-like symptoms everyone in the office feels whenever Miranda is
around,
and she adds some delicious sadism as Emily relishes the pain Andy is
facing.
Director
David Frankel does a great job holding it all together and balancing
the
dramatic moments with the funny ones.
Plus, he portrays New York City in the classic way
it used to inspire
kids on the farm to rush off to the big city after seeing a movie at
the local
theater, and you even might find yourself jumping and flinching a bit
every
time Andy’s phone rings and the anticipation of another
Miranda command is just
on the other end of that phone. Even
better, he captures on film the wins and losses, pain and exaltation
that
workers face in their careers.
The
Devil Wears Prada might be the only movie that has the
strength, power and
daring to battle Superman Returns. Copyright 2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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