She may not be ALL Devil...

Rating: 7/10 (4 March 2007)

...but she runs her workplace like Hell.
Fresh-faced and ambitious college grad Andrea"Andy"Sachs(Anne Hathaway,a perfect blend of gawky and pretty)has bitten off more than she can chew when she's brought on as assistant(one of them,actually)to Miranda Priestly(Meryl Streep,in probably her best pure role in what feels like ages),a cutting,cynical,cruel and demanding she-beast who runs Runway,a sort of Cosmopolitan-type magazine. She meets(at first)little help from her immediate peers at the magazine,particularly Miranda's established assistant Emily(Emily Blunt,with some of the best lines in the movie)and Nigel(Stanley Tucci,shaved and stylish),and has to rely on her savvy,determination and charm to try to work the job to her advantage. Of course,this being a comedy,she is able to do just that,but in the process,she starts to lose her friends,particularly her boyfriend(Adrian Greiner).
This film,when you strip away the strong,strong performances,feels pretty predictable(In fact,to me it felt like this movie took on some shades of Pretty Woman). And the added potential romantic entanglement that comes in the form of a renowned journalist(Simon Baker)seems kind of forced. The amount of times that Hathaway's character is referred to as either "fat" or "ugly" by people around the office,while understandable coming from the obsessed-with-skinny-tanned-and-chic fashionistas,still is galling. To be honest,the whole fashion industry theme of the film pretty much chased me away from seeing this in the theaters,and had Ms.Streep not been nominated for an Academy Award,I'm not sure I would've rented this DVD while it was still a "New Release". Still,this movie is entertaining,mostly on the backs of Streep,Blunt,HAthaway and Tucci,with help from a sharp script by Arline Bosh McKenna(adapting off Lauren Weisberger)and direction from David Frankel. If you are somewhat(or completely)fashion-phobic,you might be intimidated by this film,and who knows if you'd care for it or not,but this film is actually anything BUT a celebration of the industry,and the comedy that comes from it is worth a look.