The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada is another rehash of the small-town-girl-in-the-big-city, Cinderella type story. The movie is based on a true story from the bestselling book by former journalist Lauren Weisberger. It starts with familiar beginnings but is then slowly brought to life by Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci’s performances.
It is very clear that Anne Hathaway’s character Andy is the “hero” of the story, but there are some holes in her background that the writers of the film decided not to dwell on. For example, she is a journalist who shows up at her interview at Runway magazine without ever reading the magazine or finding out who the editor-in-chief is -- her interviewer. It almost seems like she applied to this job by accident. Not just that but most of the scenes with her are disinteresting and slow. You never feel emotionally attached to her and therefore you never feel sorry for her when she is sent to do impossible tasks by her boss Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep).
Meryl Streep’s performance as Miranda Priestly easily takes over the film and she becomes the star of Devil Wears Prada. She convincingly portrays an over the top, over confident, evil boss. I don’t know if it is worth the price of admission just to see a great performance by Meryl Streep. Maybe rent it when it comes out on video. But the movie does give you a slice of the fashion world, and anyone interested in that will find it somewhat interesting. If you don’t have any interest in the fashion world, then skip this movie.
unlike most critics, i didn't find meryl streep's performance all that rivetting. instead of coniving ferocity or even bulliness (both of which would have made her character more believable and hatable), she stuck to be emotionally detached. being a deadpan does not make you seem mean.
i do, however, agree that stanley tucci was the only shining light.
I have netiher read the book nor seen the film, but i have seen and heard several reviews. I can't help thinking about how nice it was for someone to write a story about my friend Heather. From my outsider's view of New York it seems that much of the city's energy and vitality is fueled from new comers trying to make the big city live up to their pre-conceived image of it's greatness. I don't know if that's what the movie is about. Probably not, since that would make it a re-make of Fame.