There’s a moment late in The Devil Wears Prada 2 when two characters find themselves standing in front of da Vinci’s famous fresco of the Last Supper in a church in Milan. One of them is awed and inspired by the timeless power of the art, but the other sees a depiction of betrayal and the very worst of what humans can do to one another. That, plus a lot of glitz and gentle humor, is what the movie is about. What keeps it interesting is the constantly rotating roster of villains, against sumptuous backdrops of fabulous parties and eye-popping fashion. None of this will be surprising for fans of the original film, which came out 20 years ago. The sequel, once again directed by David Frankel, packages some fresh twists within familiar story beats, just like fashion loops back on itself after a generation.
Returning as screenwriter, Aline Brosh McKenna brings back the original cast of principle characters, from the novel by Lauren Weisberger. We find our striving protagonist, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), working as an award-winning journalist. She struts along the sidewalks of New York City with all the poise and confidence she lacked as a fish-out-of-water ingénue in the first film. But in the opening scene, Capitalism happens, and her entire features department is eliminated. When an offer materializes to return to her previous employer, the fictional Runway Magazine, she pounces at the chance to both level up her lifestyle and rescue the old boss who nearly broke her spirit. Here’s where the roman-à-clef aspect of the story comes in. As was made clear in the original novel and film, the magazine is a thinly veiled version of Vogue while the fearsome boss, Miranda, is a ringer for that publication’s iconic editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.
In that role, Meryl Streep was nominated for an Oscar in 2007. Rather than playing an impersonation of Wintour, Streep channeled other CEOs she’d known, couching chilling rejoinders in a whisper and deploying withering glances like a switchblade. Miranda hasn’t softened in her imperious demeanor toward her underlings, although the new film positions her as a powerless supplicant to the billionaire owner of the magazine. In fact, it isn’t even really a magazine anymore, so much as a digital package of content-related assets. Hilariously, when Andy shows up in the offices for her triumphant return, Miranda doesn’t even remember her.
But the filmmakers are keenly aware of what made the first film work, and those elements are deployed (and sometimes subverted) with glee. We get good-humored snark from Stanley Tucci’s Nigel (“Look what TJ Maxx dragged in”), icy rivalry from Emily (Emily Blunt) and enough costume changes to outfit a Broadway musical. Unlike the first film, when many fashion industry players declined to appear for fear of angering Wintour, the sequel abounds with celebrity cameos, from models to designers to influencers to Lady Gaga, who plays a Miranda-esque version of herself. Nearly half of the new film’s runtime takes place in Italy as the camera wheels through parties and palaces and the characters swan about in evening wear and jewels. Like a glossy fashion magazine, the movie is gorgeous to look at.
Against all that, the plot mechanics feel like somewhat of an afterthought. First one billionaire threatens to tank the magazine, and then another. The message seems to be that Art and Beauty are destined to be snuffed out unless a slightly less toxic billionaire patron can be found. (Not much has changed since the days of da Vinci and the Medicis.) That the torchbearers of culture and civilization are a bunch of backstabbing neurotics is part of the joke. “Stockholm called,” a side character cracks, “they want their syndrome back.”
But the comedy in The Devil Wears Prada 2 is less about one-liners than the friction created by vastly different characters and their cross-purposes. Their hidden motives and vulnerabilities come into view at key moments for maximum dramatic and comedic effect. Like any good soap opera, it’s a winning formula, and the principle actors all shine and seem to be enjoying themselves. Even though Andy ends up earning the grudging respect and admiration of her boss, Miranda can’t tolerate the younger woman’s perky vibe. When Andy, wearing a version of her infamous cerulean blue sweater, pops into the boss’s office, Miranda rolls her eyes and intones her trademark kiss-off: “Go.” The worlds of fashion and publishing and pop culture have changed in fundamental ways in the past two decades, but the comforting promise of The Devil Wears Prada 2 is that, for better and for worse, people stay the same.
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Summary
The Devil Wears Prada 2 packages some fresh twists within familiar story beats, just like fashion loops back on itself after a generation.