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The Devil Wears Prada [2006] - Ł6.98

This clever, funny big-screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's best-seller takes some of the snarky bite out of the chick lit book, but smoothes out the characters' boxy edges to make a more satisfying movie. There's no doubt The Devil Wears Prada belongs to Meryl Streep, who turns in an Oscar-worthy (seriously!) strut as the monster editor-in-chief of Runway, an elite fashion magazine full of size-0, impossibly well-dressed plebes. This makes new second-assistant Andrea (Anne Hathaway), who's smart but an unacceptable size 6, stick out like a sore thumb. Streep has a ball sending her new slave on any whimsical errand, whether it's finding the seventh (unpublished) Harry Potter book or knowing what type she means when she wants "skirts." Though Andrea thumbs her nose at the shallow world of fashion (she's only doing the job to open doors to a position at The New Yorker someday), she finds herself dually disgusted yet seduced by the perks of the fast life. The film sends a basic message: Make work your priority, and you'll be rich and powerful... and lonely. Any other actress would have turned Miranda into a scenery-chewing Cruella, but Streep's underplayed, brilliant comic timing make her a fascinating, unapologetic character. Adding frills to the movie's fun are Stanley Tucci as Streep's second-in-command, Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love) as the overworked first assistant, Simon Baker as a sexy writer, and breathtaking couture designs any reader of Vogue would salivate over. -- Ellen A. Kim

Customer reviews (av rating: 3.0):

Rating: 3:
Not great and not bad : This was a strange comedy. It was quite original but it wasn't original in the idea of making a comedy about fashion. This is a crazy and a bit of a wacky film even though the jokes are perfectly normal. This is an ok movie. 3 out of 5.

Rating: 3:
Chick flick for all : Don't watch this if you want deep philosophy or clever long shot lingering cinematography. But for a relaxing couple of hours it is great. It won't stretch you - but at the end of a working week who wants to be stretched! Meryl Streep is so delightfully demanding and acidic, reminds me of some female bosses.

One for the blokes too.

Rating: 5:
So true : I've just seen the film. It's great. I haven't read the book but I will.
Of course there is the story, the acting ,etc surely a criticism of the world of fashion but what a lot of reviewers seem to have missed is that it's so true: graduates, highly-qualified people who are offered jobs as assistants and are treated like trash and used to run errands that have nothing to do with the job itself. I know because my daughter works for an American multinational in Paris and she is asked to do things like buying stamps, making reservations, doing all sorts of things for the people above they could and should take care of themselves.(My daughter has decided to quit like Adriana at the end) So there are no exaggerations, and this film truly shows the way things are run in many American firms.When you think of it you realise it's not so funny.

Rating: 1:
AWFUL : This has been the worst film i have seen for a long time. Was it ever going to end? So boring i fell to sleep

Rating: 1:
The Devil Wears Primark! : If you have read the book, then don't watch this film. You will be disappointed. Many of the main characters of the book (Lily and Emily for example) are little more than cameo roles in the film. Anne Hathaway is well cast as Andrea Sachs and Meryl Streep translates into a good Miranda Priestly (although having read the book, I think Joan Collins would be better - even if just for the pronunciation of Ah-ndre-ah) but the film does not make enough of the explosive situations that arise between Miranda, Emily and Andrea in the book version. The ending is tame in comparison and overall, the film does not flow as well as the book, even leaving you wondering what relevance some characters have or where predominant characters are! I would say if you had nothing better to do and wanted something to stare at without much thought one evening, this could fill the gap but if you want to be entertained by this tale, pick up the book and read instead.

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