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$2.50 Reviews
The Devil Wears Prada
http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/poster69.jpg
The Devil Wears Prada, adapted from the novel of the same name, deals with the fashion industry, but it's not so much about that as it is about the workplace in general. You can recognize all of the characters in the film from practically any job, not just one that happens to deal with clothing. It works as a satire of that particular job market, don't get me wrong, but it has a broader appeal that allows it to be enjoyable for anyone, regardless of their familiarity with, say, Prada. I think that's key, as it ensures that the scope of the film isn't limited.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="left"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/19082_10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The film stars Anne Hathaway, having succeeded in breaking out of her Disney Princess look of pre-2005 with both Brokeback Mountain and Havoc, as Andrea "Andy" Sachs, a woman who wants so desperately to be a writer that she's willing to put herself through a year of turmoil in hopes that it'll allow her to meet someone to give her the job she wants. It's a terrible job because her boss, the "devil" of the title, is fashionista Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), who gives about as much thought to her assistants as she does to anything not relating to her job: not much.
However, despite being a "plum" size four, and not having much knowledge of the fashion industry, Andy gets the job. She's a hard worker and is very smart -- we learn that she could have been a lawyer, but declined an invitation from Stanford because she prefers writing -- but she's not initially up to the task because, as co-worker Nigel (Stanley Tucci) claims, her heart's not in it. So, you can already see the transformation that Andy has to go through in order to get ahead.
Par for the course in this kind of film involves the conflict between her personal life and her work, as well as the obvious one between her and her boss, and her and her jealous/condescending co-worker, Emily (Emily Blunt). There's a lot of conflict, and it all has to end up somewhere. Will Andy become the next Ms. Priestly? Will she give up and go back to her old lifestyle? Will she still have friends at the end of it all? These are the questions we need answered, folks!
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="right"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/devilp10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The Devil Wears Prada doesn't really work as the melodrama that it sometimes wants to be. None of these questions really matter, and any self-discovery ends up coming across as fake. Andy goes from one way to the other in the course of a couple of minutes, and is then steadfast in that direction. And then, later in the film, a quick decision like that is made once again. It's too shallow a film in its characters to make that type of thing work; we haven't been building up for any length of time to reach that conclusion.
Where it does work is as an observation of the workplace, and of the fashion industry in general. Andy quite clearly doesn't fit in, not at first, and the harsh statements leveled against her are eye-opening. She, a size four, is labeled as fat, while her style is considered to be appalling. It's mean is what it is, and while things like this likely don't happen often or to the degree that they do in the film, the point is made loud and clear.
The workplace criticism is even stronger. All of these characters are recognizable from day-to-day life. The mean boss who makes life miserable for everyone else (Miranda); the generous, older co-worker who has toiled his life away for minimum benefit (Nigel); the up-and-comer who has the whole world ahead of her (Andy); the mean-spirited, jealous co-worker who is getting passed up and is none too happy about it (Emily); the boyfriend who represents the past life; and the dreamy man who shows a future full of wonder -- you'll compare these characters to people in your own life, and by drawing your attention to it, the film might just make you think about your position among them.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="left"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/600ful13.jpg[/Img_Inline]
This isn't a terribly funny film, although it does have its moments. It's more about the observation than the jokes, and the absurdity in tasks that are required by Miranda. At one point, a copy of the new Harry Potter was requested. Not the one that just came out, but the as-of-yet unpublished manuscript. Oh, and it needs to be here in a few hours, because that's easy to do. Don't get it done, and you're fired, Andy. And bring me my steak lunch in 15 minutes, despite the restaurant still not being open. Got that?
Meryl Streep makes for a fantastic villain here, although is that to anyone's surprise. She's appropriately cold, calculating, and does it all without even a hint of camp. It would be easy to see the excess she goes to as humorous, but there's no joy to her character. Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci are all fine, too, but it's Streep who once again shows us just how impressive an actor she is. Fans of the book will note that she is not, in fact, playing a British character, and that if you're upset about that, you should probably re-prioritize your life.
The Devil Wears Prada is a success not because of the way that it looks at the fashion industry -- shrewd as that judgment is -- but the way it looks at any workplace. The melodrama and characters, while they work as broad stereotypes that you can associate with people you know, don't function well in the drama, which is why it's not a complete winner. But it's funny enough and contains good performances and sharp observations that I give it a recommendation, regardless of your familiarity with Prada.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
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$2.50 Reviews
The Devil Wears Prada
http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/poster69.jpg
The Devil Wears Prada, adapted from the novel of the same name, deals with the fashion industry, but it's not so much about that as it is about the workplace in general. You can recognize all of the characters in the film from practically any job, not just one that happens to deal with clothing. It works as a satire of that particular job market, don't get me wrong, but it has a broader appeal that allows it to be enjoyable for anyone, regardless of their familiarity with, say, Prada. I think that's key, as it ensures that the scope of the film isn't limited.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="left"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/19082_10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The film stars Anne Hathaway, having succeeded in breaking out of her Disney Princess look of pre-2005 with both Brokeback Mountain and Havoc, as Andrea "Andy" Sachs, a woman who wants so desperately to be a writer that she's willing to put herself through a year of turmoil in hopes that it'll allow her to meet someone to give her the job she wants. It's a terrible job because her boss, the "devil" of the title, is fashionista Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), who gives about as much thought to her assistants as she does to anything not relating to her job: not much.
However, despite being a "plum" size four, and not having much knowledge of the fashion industry, Andy gets the job. She's a hard worker and is very smart -- we learn that she could have been a lawyer, but declined an invitation from Stanford because she prefers writing -- but she's not initially up to the task because, as co-worker Nigel (Stanley Tucci) claims, her heart's not in it. So, you can already see the transformation that Andy has to go through in order to get ahead.
Par for the course in this kind of film involves the conflict between her personal life and her work, as well as the obvious one between her and her boss, and her and her jealous/condescending co-worker, Emily (Emily Blunt). There's a lot of conflict, and it all has to end up somewhere. Will Andy become the next Ms. Priestly? Will she give up and go back to her old lifestyle? Will she still have friends at the end of it all? These are the questions we need answered, folks!
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="right"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/devilp10.jpg[/Img_Inline]
The Devil Wears Prada doesn't really work as the melodrama that it sometimes wants to be. None of these questions really matter, and any self-discovery ends up coming across as fake. Andy goes from one way to the other in the course of a couple of minutes, and is then steadfast in that direction. And then, later in the film, a quick decision like that is made once again. It's too shallow a film in its characters to make that type of thing work; we haven't been building up for any length of time to reach that conclusion.
Where it does work is as an observation of the workplace, and of the fashion industry in general. Andy quite clearly doesn't fit in, not at first, and the harsh statements leveled against her are eye-opening. She, a size four, is labeled as fat, while her style is considered to be appalling. It's mean is what it is, and while things like this likely don't happen often or to the degree that they do in the film, the point is made loud and clear.
The workplace criticism is even stronger. All of these characters are recognizable from day-to-day life. The mean boss who makes life miserable for everyone else (Miranda); the generous, older co-worker who has toiled his life away for minimum benefit (Nigel); the up-and-comer who has the whole world ahead of her (Andy); the mean-spirited, jealous co-worker who is getting passed up and is none too happy about it (Emily); the boyfriend who represents the past life; and the dreamy man who shows a future full of wonder -- you'll compare these characters to people in your own life, and by drawing your attention to it, the film might just make you think about your position among them.
[Img_Inline width="275" height="180" Caption="" align="left"]http://i69.servimg.com/u/f69/16/09/70/40/600ful13.jpg[/Img_Inline]
This isn't a terribly funny film, although it does have its moments. It's more about the observation than the jokes, and the absurdity in tasks that are required by Miranda. At one point, a copy of the new Harry Potter was requested. Not the one that just came out, but the as-of-yet unpublished manuscript. Oh, and it needs to be here in a few hours, because that's easy to do. Don't get it done, and you're fired, Andy. And bring me my steak lunch in 15 minutes, despite the restaurant still not being open. Got that?
Meryl Streep makes for a fantastic villain here, although is that to anyone's surprise. She's appropriately cold, calculating, and does it all without even a hint of camp. It would be easy to see the excess she goes to as humorous, but there's no joy to her character. Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci are all fine, too, but it's Streep who once again shows us just how impressive an actor she is. Fans of the book will note that she is not, in fact, playing a British character, and that if you're upset about that, you should probably re-prioritize your life.
The Devil Wears Prada is a success not because of the way that it looks at the fashion industry -- shrewd as that judgment is -- but the way it looks at any workplace. The melodrama and characters, while they work as broad stereotypes that you can associate with people you know, don't function well in the drama, which is why it's not a complete winner. But it's funny enough and contains good performances and sharp observations that I give it a recommendation, regardless of your familiarity with Prada.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you are a fan of my reviews, and want to boost my ego receive notifications when new reviews are posted, please join/visit this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous movie reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.284075-2-50-Reviews-Archive>here.
