The Devil Wears Prada [DVD] [2006]

One of my favourite movies.

No interest in fashion, like Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway, respect Meryl Streep - but the ensemble and script are sophisticated, cutting, touching, humorous, close to the bone. Put off by the title for years, but I'm glad I watched it. A sophisticated sorbet to cleanse the palette and refresh the soul

ACTING: This is a great film because of the superb acting by Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway in that order. WARDROBE: You'd expect a movie set in the fashion industry to stand out in terms of wear. The devils wears Prada does not disappoint. The wardrobe is notable but for me it was the shoes, more particularly those wore by Meryl Streep, especially the first ones she is seen in (inca red suede Azzedine Alaïa pumps) (it is almost the first thing of her that is seen as she comes out the car): practical but extremely elegant. The way that they are showcased is also notable, with it defining the first sight of Miranda, showcasing the transformation of Andrea and differentiating people in fashion from people not in it, as well as the hierarchy within the fashion industry. FRIENDSHIPS and ROMCOM: This is a comedy, and it has some "romance" but this is NOT a romcom. The boyfriend is unsupportive, the friends are ok when the lead's job gets them free expensive items and less so when it requires her to work on "special days". The person who suffers the most about this extra work is the lead and her so-called friends judge and blackmail her into the change that is convenient to them rather than trust that she will make her own mind and decision. There is no empathy at all, no understanding, no support. It is a travestie that she returns to that boyfriend to be honest or that she does not have a go at them. These are friends that will let you grow as long as it does not inconvenience them: so NOT friends. SCRIPT: To be honest, the script is average. It is not bad obviously and I have nothing burning against it. It is just again that what lifts it up is having excellent actors enacting it. Those 3 leading females (and equally Stanley Tucci) are just amazing. Overall, quite a great movie because of the acting and the fashion visual. Meryl Streep is a great villain. There are quite a lot of bullying and blackmailing in the movie, from friends to foe but Miranda is the bully in chief. This made me realise that to a certain extent, even beyond her pale complexion and dark hair, Andrea is really Snow White. She stays with the evil queen and while she recognises the bad, she comes to love and respect her but decides that she does not want to be that person just because of those feelings. I love that she "protects" and "defends" her by the end but still choses to leave her, able thereby to make a difference between liking a person and having to put up with them. It is a shame that she did not chose to do the same for her "boyfriend". It almost cancels the moral of her story. But I guess she went for the least evil and the devil she knew.

I managed to sit through this film wearing a tatty holey old sweater, two year old jeans and no make up and bitten fingernails. I can imagine the scorn on Miranda and Emily's face and the snooty disapproving scowl from Nigel as he looks me up and down in disgust at my wobbly bum and pounchy tum. Superbly funny. The entire case was brilliant. Now I'm up for a Starbucks....hot Starbucks. Then its a diet, and a rummage through my wardrobe to get rid of anything less than a season old or not designer labelled.

Completely brilliant Great cast good comedy

Great film

A neurotic reworking of the traditional Cinderella ploy, set in modern day New York City. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is an aspiring magazine journalist with vaguely PC socio-friendly leanings. Unable to secure a more suitable job, she “settles” for a junior position at the most iconic fashion rag in town, Runway (a thin disguise for America's top fashion magazine). Frumpy Andy despises the vacuous world of fashion and her menial, subservient job, despite being told that “a million girls would kill for it”. Difficult to believe once we are introduced to her boss, the imperious editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (clearly based on a real person). Meryl Streep does a good job in a fairly one-dimensional role, which she attempts to make slightly more human at the end, with zero success. The character is really too egotistical and charmless to garner much sympathy, from me anyway. Excellent supporting performance from Stanley Tucci as the passionate right-hand man who, in reverse gender-stereotyping, had to overcome the stigma of wanting to work in a non-manly profession. I also liked Emily Blunt, very watchable in an early part. She is funny and makes the most of a limited opportunity. Absolutely awful the protagonist, Anne Hathaway, who is cringe-worthy in every scene. I find her hard to watch, she alternates between wooden and over the top, and her voice grates like chalk on a blackboard. The less said the better about her boyfriend and close circle of friends, whose judgemental behaviour is unrealistic. The plot was not all that gripping, and more courage was needed to expose the shocking exploitation of young, gullible girls but, to be fair, the story was all about the magazine. Still it could have been much better if they had shown more of the actual behind-the-scenes world of fashion, instead of getting bogged down with the boring angle of the sulky misfit who works hard to fit in and (surprise, surprise) ends up being fabulous once she begs access to an ending stream of divine, trendy outfits. How shallow is that? Maybe that is the message of the film: that appearances are all that counts in this toxic, pretentious environment. Not a lot of memorable moments, but worth watching once for Stanley Tucci's nuanced work, and Meryl Streep's unflinching portrayal of a self-important bully of a woman, puffed up by far too much undeserved adulation, and whose main talent is to cling to her exalted position by fair means or foul. Lots of special features on this DVD, which I really enjoyed despite a bit of repetition. The running commentary had so many people involved that it could have got chaotic, but it didn't. Deleted scenes (13), theatrical trailer, the usual not-really-funny bloopers, and 6 fairly beefy featurettes: the best for me were about Valentino (one of the few designers left with a sense of style and elegance) and Patricia Field. Almost better than the movie itself!

Brilliant movie watched it so many times