A series of humiliations...before and after the makeover

Rating: 6/10 (7 January 2009)

Wide-eyed college graduate in NYC, a journalism major who dresses in old-lady skirts and lumpy sweaters, applies for a second assistant's job at the leading fashion magazine, Runway; she (improbably) gets the position, but soon finds working for the editor-in-chief, a notorious dragon lady, to be taking a toll on the rest of her life. Lauren Weisberger's novel becomes super-slick, chic and commercial take on the modern working woman's woes. Whether or not is mirrors reality (or, indeed, any actual person's day-to-day life in the Big Apple) is up for conjecture, however the performances by Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep are first-rate (Stanley Tucci is also excellent, and nicely not-flaming, as a fashion consultant). The final portion of the picture, with Hathaway seeing her future mirrored in her boss's hollow world, is pure formula. Not that the rest of "Prada" isn't, but at least there are some entertaining and lively moments prior to this. **1/2 from ****