That touch of minx: The interaction between Streep and Hathaway is one of the film's high points.
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In his review of the standard disc release of "The Devil Wears Prada," DVD Town's Erik Martinez called it "wonderfully entertaining" and "one of the best studio films of the year." I agree, and for some of the same reasons: It's slick, it's stylish, it's well-written, well-acted, and well-directed. But other things also struck me.
Maybe what makes it so successful and also gives it a touch of warmth is that "The Devil Wears Prada" doesn't try to take on the fashion industry in a full-scale lampoon like "Zoolander," nor does it take its subject matter so drop-dead serious that it turns into a yawner, as happened with Robert Altman's "Ready to Wear." This David Frankel film is as much about people as it is about the fashion industry, and that gives it heart. As a result, what drama there is feels as authentic as an episode of "Project Runway."
It's also a little refreshing to watch a film about a young woman in which her relationship isn't the primary focus. Then again, Anne Hathaway has a way of coming across as a naturally independent woman . . . albeit a naturally frumpy one.
How can someone so beautiful seem so plain and average? Well, Hathaway's posture, body language, and facial expressions convey an Everywoman presence that's a heck of a long subway ride away from the models that populate the New York fashion scene. She's the quintessential girl next door, whether she's in costume as "Ella Enchanted" or a teen discovering her inner royalty in "The Princess Diaries." In fact, you could call this film "The Fashion Princess Diaries."
In "The Devil Wears Prada," Hathaway unveils an adult version of the character she played in "Princess Diaries." Just as the young princess-to-be got a makeover and became more graceful and sophisticated, so does her character here. Everyone in New York would kill for the chance to become the second assistant to Runway magazine's editor-in-chief. After all, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is the high priestess of fashion on both sides of the Atlantic. But Andy Sachs shows up for her job interview looking so preppie you'd think she was still in Illinois taking classes at Northwestern's famed Medill School of Journalism. She came to New York hoping to become the next Hunter Thompson or Bob Woodward, not a gopher for some silly fashion magazine. She's offered the job not because she understands (or cares about) the fashion world, but because she convinces her devil of a boss--a woman who strikes such fear into the employees that warnings ring out as she approaches--that she's intelligent and a quick learner. And she takes the job because if she works there for a year, her next hire can be for whatever magazine or newspaper she chooses.
The film tracks her transformation and attitude changes toward the fashion industry, her boss and co-workers, and her boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier). Whether she's facing off against her rival/co-worker Emily (Emily Blunt) in a friendly sort of way or taking insults (then advice) from her boss's right-hand man (the flamboyantly gay Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci), Andy has more character development per scene than many movies have in an hour. For that, give partial credit to Aline Brosh McKenna, who based her screenplay on the Lauren Weisberger novel, and partial credit to Hathaway. As Andy becomes a fashion icon herself and learns how to play the game, she also learns that there are always more choices than the only one that seems to rise up before us with such authority.
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