"The Devil Wears Prada"
Directedby:David Frankel
Starring:Meryl Streep, Anne
Hathaway, Emily Blunt,
Stanley Tucci and Adrian
Grenier
M
"The Devil Wears Prada" is an uptown Cinderella story, equal parts sass, panache and vinegar. Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a Northwestern University grad looking for her first journalism gig in the Big Apple. Having run out of career opportunities, her last choice for employment is second assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), ruthless editor of Runway-the New York fashion magazine. The only problem is that Andrea is a tad bohemian, slightly unkempt and totally clueless when it comes to fashion.
Andrea's employment possibilities appear to be nil at Runway (whose employees appear to be either Kate Moss clones or gay). But when Miranda struts in unannounced and spies the utterly out-of-place Andrea, she decides to take a chance on her. It seems Miranda's last two assistants, both fashion-model vogue, were dismal failures. The job description, after all, entails little more than being Miranda's personal 24-hour gofer. Andrea seems a plausible alternative.
Oscar winner Streep, renowned for her accents, speaks little more than disparaging monotone sighs in "Prada"-yet in many ways, those few utterances are the structural centerpiece of the film. Her disdain of Andrea is apparent, but then again, her disdain of the world around her is equally apparent. When Miranda speaks, she is feared, loathed and obeyed without question. Slow to comprehend those workplace dynamics, Andrea stumbles repeatedly, barely managing to keep herself useful.
Yet Andrea has her own agenda. Lasting a single year at Runway, she tells her friends, will enable her to pick a career at any magazine in the city. But in her zeal to maintain a comfortable distance, she continues to alienate Miranda and the staff.
It takes Runway's second fiddle, Nigel (a wonderfully impassive Stanley Tucci), to adjust Andrea's attitude-and wardrobe-and as she begins to adapt to her surroundings, her lifestyle shifts as well. Regrettably, Andrea's off-hours (she has retained precious few) suffer, as her boyfriend, Nate ("Entourage's" Adrian Grenier), and her close friends are chagrinned over Andrea's success and excessive schedule. That seems a little odd, since they're all young Manhattan fast-trackers themselves. Nate is striving to become a chef- no 9-to-5 schedule there. And her best friend is an aspiring artist. It's strange that none recognizes in Andrea his or her own impending social-crunching futures.
Fortunately, Andrea's schedule keeps her and the film closely attuned to Miranda's whims. Streep and Hathaway play well off each other, as do Streep and Tucci and Streep and neurotic first assistant Emily (Emily Blunt). Hathaway, whose breakout role was from urban geek to princess in "The Princess Diaries" doesn't have to stretch much in "Prada." The premise is similar. Yet she's a likeable actor and her wide-eyed innocence nicely augments the deadpan terror instilled by Streep's numerous whispers for attention.
Andrea's impending clash with her own moral code consumes much of "Prada's" second half, and the film dulls a bit when Andrea and Miranda's friction ebbs. But even though we've seen the pauper-toprincess formula before, Streep's performance and Hathaway's persona keep "Prada" a step above. There's a nicely oppressive realism to Andrea's constant one-step-behind attempts to placate Miranda's breezy demands, and the fashion industry, for most of us, has never looked so daunting.
In a nutshell: The plot may not be unique, but the performances, the film's frenetic pacing and "Prada's" overall 'tude give it a nice comedic boost. Tired of superheroes this summer? Meet one who lives uptown and commands attention with a few vague whispers. Oh, and who also wears Prada.
