Directed by David Frankel – Starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci
Years after leaving Runway behind, Andy Sachs finds herself pulled back into Miranda Priestly’s orbit as the magazine faces an uncertain future.
I should probably start with a confession: I never loved The Devil Wears Prada. I know it’s become a cultural phenomenon, and I found the original entertaining enough, but I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and didn’t care much about anyone’s journey.
So I’m probably going to be in the minority here. I liked the sequel more.
It’s certainly not a better movie in every way. It’s messy, some ideas are half-baked, and there are storylines that probably could have been removed entirely. But the motivations felt cleaner this time around, and that gave me characters I could actually invest in.
Meryl Streep gets a lot more to do with Miranda, and I loved seeing a slightly different side of her. Beyond the perfectly timed insults, Streep gets reactions and bits of physical comedy I wasn’t expecting.
Anne Hathaway’s Andy worked better for me this time, too. She’s still caught in Miranda’s orbit in ways that can make her feel like the same person from the first film, but the difference is that I understood Andy’s motivations. That gave me something to care about that I never really found in the first film.
The changing media landscape gives the story some interesting material to play with, and this time around the characters aren’t simply chasing success, but fighting for survival.
Not everything fits as naturally. Andy gets a romantic storyline that feels unnecessary and underdeveloped. It never gave me much reason to care about the relationship, and the movie probably would have been stronger without it.
Emily Blunt is good again, because Emily Blunt is good. But Emily Charlton feels less naturally connected to the story this time. Her place in the movie sometimes feels like the filmmakers knew they needed to bring the character back and then worked backward to figure out how to make that happen.
Stanley Tucci remains a welcome presence, and there are enough familiar faces, new characters, and funny moments scattered throughout to keep things moving.
That’s ultimately where I landed with The Devil Wears Prada 2. It’s entertaining and I cared more about these people this time around.
The original is probably the better movie. I liked this one more.
Verdict: Good Time
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