Farce for fashionistas

Rating: 5/10 (22 February 2009)

I have to admit not knowing anything about Prada, or high fashion, for that matter. The two sections I skip over in newspapers with hardly a glance are sport and fashion. This film is a light-hearted romp about people I couldn't care less about. Actually , that's not quite true because I always sympathise with fresh young people trying to start their careers, and of course Ann Hathaway's character Amy is serious minded enough; she takes the job as Miranda Priestly's assistant and general dogsbody because it might help her get a more serious journalistic job elsewhere. Meryl Streep's Miranda is a hard-driving egocentric monster with just enough charm to prevent her being totally repulsive. People like that, frankly, are to be avoided, especially as bosses. Amy puts everything into the task of appeasing Miranda, even to the extent of endangering her relationship with her nice boyfriend. But she survives, and gets a good reference from the elegant monster.
One interesting point about the Mirandas of this world is the way they bring out the worst in others. Collegiality at work is sacrificed and everyone competes to satisfy the boss's whims. It's not obvious that this leads to a better product; in fact if there's no-one around prepared to tell the boss that her brilliant plans have flaws, disaster is more likely. It's also very wearing dealing with all the unnecessary tension that arises. There's nothing creative about it. Some bosses cultivate fear and uncertainty among their employees (Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black come to mind), but the usual long-term result is that the good people leave and the organization teeters towards collapse.
The reason why people put up with the Mirandas of this world is of course money. If you can put up with the constant stress and humiliation, you do get to live the high life. But, as Amy, a sensible person, soon realizes, it's not a long term proposition.
It was nice to see an only slightly camp Stanley Tucci as Nigel, Amy's fashion mentor, and Emily Blunt as Emily, Miranda's other assistant is a good foil to Amy's faux pas. Adrian Greiner is cute as Emily's boyfriend Nate, but there aren't any evident signs of acting. Meryl, of course, can do this sort of thing in her sleep, but she puts plenty of panache into her part. You're not likely to fall asleep while she is on the screen.