MOVIE GUIDE
The Devil Wears Prada
by Trisa O'Farrell 1
Got Fashion?
For most of us there comes a point in our
life where we are put in a situation that leaves us
completely out of our comfort zone. Of course I
am talking about wearing stilettos! That is exactly
what happens to Andrea 'Andy' Sachs played by
Anne Hathaway in the dramatic-comedy The Devil
Wears Prada. This movie, based on the New York
Times best-selling list novel by Lauren Weisberger,
is set in modern New York around a fictitious
fashion magazine called Runway.
The movie
includes other familiar faces: Academy Award
winner Meryl Streep (see Figure 1), Stanley Tucci,
and Emily Blunt. To add to the texture to the film
there
were
several
fashionable
cameos
appearances such as Heidi Klum and Valentino Figure 1 - From left to right: Andy (Hathaway),
Miranda (Streep), and Nigel (Tucci) (NYTimes.com)
Garavani. I find the film can be relatable to many
people on different levels. I find the movie is fun and offers some good laughs. I like it enough
that I own the movie on DVD; however, with that being said I do not think it would be worth
paying premium price to go see at a movie theater if it were ever re-released.
1
Movie Guide is a fictitious magazine to showcase an English paper for Professor Miner's 2010-080 class. This document was
originally created on 17 Sep 2011, and revised on 6 Dec 2011.
DVD REVIEW: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
The story is about recent college
grad Andy, an aspiring writer hopeful who
cannot get her foot into the journalism
door. As a last ditch effort she takes a job
as a would-be executive assistant where
she is told by the first assistant played by
Emily Blunt, "you work a year for her and Figure 2 - Andy (Hathaway) before she fashionably fits in
you can get any magazine you want." The at fictional magazine Runway (abc.net.au)
"her" of course is referring to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the infamous editor-in-chief of the
savvy fashion magazine Runway. The out of place misfit Andy soon finds herself fashionably
incompatible by asking, "can you please spell Gabbana" and is getting herself in way over her
head with Miranda's constant demands (see Figure 2). Her boyfriend and friends encourage
her at the beginning to stick it out, but it is the Runway art director, Nigel (Stucci), that ends up
making this misfit start to truly find her place at the magazine. She ends up trading her pumps
and knitted sweater in for a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos and a Dolce dress. However, by doing
so her friends fear that she has lost her values. Ultimately she has to choose to stick it out, or
be true to herself.
I like that the movie is relatable to many people's situation. We all have goals and
dreams we aspire for, but even those with degree have a hard time getting their foot in the
door to what they want to become in life. Often times we are stuck settling or doing something
as a stepping stone that we do not like to get to headed in the right direction. I feel that is
portrayed very well here through Andy's character and situation. Another aspect I find relevant
is how she is put in a situation where Miranda demands the world from her. Whether it is
hellacious bosses, overbearing parents, or impassable teachers there are many of us who can
relate to the feeling of whatever you do is not good enough. And where it seems like you need
to be Wonder Woman to get through it all. The other theme about the movie that catches my
attention is the sense of not fitting in. Andy was made fun of at Runway from the get-go
despite being very comfortable in her pumps. She was laughed at by coworkers and even put
down by her monstrous boss. Doing what some of us would do she changed to try and fit in.
MOVIE GUIDE
Of course this comes at a cost of a damaging relationship with her friends and boyfriend.
Frequently we are put in situations where there is a fine line between being true to ourselves
and conforming to the standard. Besides being relatable on many levels the movie also has
other good qualities.
Unless sweats and tie die are your thing you have got to admire the clothing and
accessories with the movie being centered around a prestigious fashion magazine. According
to movies.com, director David Frankel went with previous co-worker Patricia Field as the
costume designer. Patricia, explains Wikipedia, also did the costuming for Sex in the City who
Frankel was a part of as well. Field estimated the total wardrobe value at around one million
dollars "making it one of the
most
expensively costumed
movies
in
(Wikipedia).
cinema
history"
Fields did earn
nominations from the American
and British Academy Awards for
the movie as well. The movie
throws
out
numerous
top
designers: Dolce and Gabbana,
Jimmy Choo, Prada, Valentino,
Figure 3 - Andy in "the closet" (moviemail-online.com)
etc. However, the visuals of the
attire speak for themselves. I dream of having a closet like they have in the scene where Nigel
gives Andy some clothes from the closet that is more like a room bigger than my house (see
Figure 3). I believe the movie did an excellent job at capturing the fashion side of this movie.
The movie can make one jealous thinking about all the sample products that Andy was just
handed for free that would cost thousands for any normal human being.
Despite the great attire I would say the movie is not entirely hysterical. I never found
myself rolling on the ground or crying from laughing. However, there are some good parts for
chuckles in the movie as well as a good sense of "sticking it to the man." I have a hard time
seeing it purely as a comedy as it is popularly categorized, and that is why I referred to it as a
DVD REVIEW: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
dramatic-comedy earlier in my review. The movie does have a good sense of finding one's self,
and I like how it is applicable to many life situations. Plus there are some humorous parts, and
you get to dream of all the nice clothes and accessories you will probably never afford to buy in
your lifetime. This is arguably a good movie. So overall I am telling you to watch it if you have
not seen it, and if you have seen it then go see it again. You can probably expect to pay around
$5 for this DVD (or about $13 for Blue Ray) that can be found almost anywhere, and it will be
great addition to your home collection.
References
"New York Times Movies". 30 June 2006. New York Times. 18 September 2011.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/movies/30devi.html
"At The Movies". 2011. ABC. 20 September 2011.
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1747690.htm
"Movie Mail". 18 December 2006. Moviemail-online.com. 20 September 2011.
http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/film/dvd/The-Devil-Wears-Prada/
2011. Movies.com. 21 September 2011. http://www.movies.com/devil-wearsprada/details/m21528
"The Free Encyclopedia". 29 August 2011. Wikipedia. 21 September 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Wears_Prada_%28film%29