Dance with the Devil in Prada

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2009)

A delightful excursion through the world of haute couture and magazine publishing set amid glamorous Paris and New York. The film is an adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's best-seller, which was based on the life of Anna Wintour (Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. edition of Vogue).
Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) seems a fish out of water when she interviews for a job as the second-assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), editor of high fashion magazine, Runway. Andy wants to be a journalist, and is only working there to survive until she gets a break for her writing.
Miranda Priestly: ...You have no sense of fashion...
Andy Sachs: I think that depends on...
Miranda Priestly: No, no, that wasn't a question.
But Andy is smart, though at first naive, and after being hired, she tries hard to please the devil in Prada, Miranda. Pleasing Miranda, however, is quite a challenge. Completely self centered, she makes impossible demands such as a flight out of Florida during a hurricane, or the unpublished manuscript to the latest Harry Potter book for her twins. Streep is the consummate bee-otch delivering such lines as:
Miranda Priestly: Find me that piece of paper I had in my hand yesterday morning.
Miranda Priestly: By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
Miranda Priestly: Details of your incompetence do not interest me.
Contrast this Ice Queen with the laid back character she played in Prairie Home Companion, and you begin to get a sense of this actress's extensive range. This role earned her an Oscar nomination. Well deserved, I might add.
First-assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) would be only too happy to sabotage Andy, but if she were fired just now that would dash her dreams of attending the fashion events in Paris. Lots of catty comments from her. My fave:
Emily: Okay, I am hearing this... (She moves her hand in a speech mimicking sign)
Emily: And I want to hear this. (She closes her hand) Can't wait to use that one.
Art Director Nigel (Stanley Tucci) gives an excellent performance, mentoring the ingénue, without ever losing his satiric edge or giving in to the saccharin. Upon first seeing her he dashes off the following withering remark: Nigel: Who is that *sad* little person? Are we doing a before-and-after piece I don't know about? When she turns to him, after a particularly cruel session of torture from Miranda, instead of sympathy he tells her bluntly that she disrespects the Art of Fashion, the role of the magazine, and the impact of Miranda upon that Art.
Nigel: Other girls dream of working here. You merely deign.
Later, after seeing that Andy is smart and capable, and trying to meet the challenges of her job, he gives her a pair of Jimmy Chu high heels. She tells him they are not for her, but soon after when Miranda glares at her sensible shoes, she puts them on Tout de Suite. This is a turning point for her character, who finally gets in the game, embracing the world of fashion, and dances with the devil. Andy is now known as Andrea, and she finally gets some good barbs of her own, such as when sexy writer Christian Thompson (Simon Baker, currently starring in The Mentalist as Patrick Jane) attempts to seduce her in Paris: Christian Thompson: Je suis très, très désolé. Andy Sachs: You're not that désolé at all.
Director David Frankel (who was also responsible for Sex in the City) exhibits the same witty dialogue--the same heady mixture of comedy and drama, or dramedy and comma--that will keep you entertained right up to the final dénouement. Pour yourself a Peach Cosmo and watch this with your own Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.