A Surprisingly Cerebral Experience- But not For Children!!!

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2006)

When I first saw this movie I wasn't sure whether to love it or hate it.
The movie of course is fun with delightful outfits for the girls and lots of eye candy (in particular Anne Hathaway) for the guys. Both Streep and Hathaway deliver some of the better performances of the year and the supporting cast is great as well. The make up artists are fantastic as well, doing a great job subtly changing Hathaway as she ascends through the fashion world.
The writing and/or editing could have done a better to flesh out Anne Hathaway's Andy with particular focus on her relationship with both her family and friends. Also at times, the film comes across as cartoon-like, not just with certain characters, which is probably intended, but also with the cinematography of New York and Paris.
But none of this disturbed me as much as the way Anne Hathaway's Andy develops. In the movie she takes many ethically questionable actions, many of them in a casual enough manner to be missed by most of the audience. While there is an ultimate and perhaps predictable conclusion to her actions, I felt utterly dissatisfied about the consequences of her actions. Perhaps because of this I was both drawn to and repulsed by her character. However in the end, these dichotomies may be the strongest feature of the movie, as it is thought-provoking. Since that what good movies are supposed to do, I give it high marks.
A warning should be given to parents of the children and young adults that will be drawn to this movie. As mentioned before, Andy makes many questionable ethical judgments and really few of these are explored to any kind of consequences. Younger member of the audience- especially "young" women (this likely includes any women under 25)- will have trouble identifying much less understanding, what is wrong about her choices. I'd therefore recommend any parent watch it with or before their children do.