Bland, aimless and tedious

Rating: 3/10 (13 February 2007)

This film left me wanting - I expected an awful lot more. The book has been lavished with praise and many people I have spoken with have rated the story highly, so to have sat through a film which was lacking in heart, direction, warmth and any real characters was disappointing to say the least. Anne Hathaway and her friends around her are woefully miscast - it's a nice enough script, but the bland ensemble cast just don't exude friendship within their clique. The character Andy and her boyfriend seem to have the most 'meh' relationship which just bumbles along and suffers as soon as she becomes even slightly put upon by what appears to be her first 'real' job - this is simply not realistic. The staff at the Runway publication are probably better bought to life but then, they're all 2-D characters and that appears to be what the world of fashion is like - but is it incredibly doubtful that a so called very high fashion publication would hire someone as out of touch with its modus operandi as Andy.
Meryl Streep is passable in this film but she adds nothing which couldn't be played by any other ageing, frosty, hard faced actress.
This movie just stumbles from one aimless section to another, with Hathaway's character having the most unbelievable about face from frump to hottie in one fell swoop, ditching her old image in 60 seconds and being noticed by the staff at the magazine for fitting in. This implausible, lazy sell out of course works and she goes on to get her dream job - as if that was ever going to be in doubt.
This film is best avoided and if you're looking for a chick flick, there are plenty others out there which are far more deserving of your attention.