After seeing Anne Hathaway's boobs in Brokeback Mountain, I knew those Disney, fresh-faced Princess films were long behind her. I was incredibly excited to see her in this new movie with Meryl Streep, an actress who I admire very much, called The Devil Wears Prada. True, I was a little anxious (fashion is not my forte,) but I knew I had little to fear with this film. It's amazing how false confidence in a movie can make you sick to your stomach.
Or maybe it was the quote, "'[size] 2 is the new 4, and 0 is the new 2.' 'I'm a 6.' 'Which is the new 14.'" I suddenly felt very bloated in my size 12 jeans. After I stopped trying to figure out what new size I would be, not only did my head hurt and my self esteem plummet, but I also started a downward path towards loathing of this film. Now, I know that some of this is meant to poke fun at the thinning fashion industry, but some things the film just took so seriously, and instead of enjoying myself, I found myself infuriated!
I am by no means an angry feminist; let me just clear the air on this. I am also quite the fan of satire, which this, by no means, was. My pain came generally from two faults with this movie: mostly the subject matter, and slightly, Hathaway's role.
Hathaway, who plays journalist-hopeful Andy Sachs, gets a temp-to-hire job working at THE fashion magazine, Runway, under editor-in-queen, Miranda Priestly (Streep.) Andy starts out as a liberal, frumpy "I don't care what I look like," (hey, kind of reminds me of... me) girl, who soon (get this...) learns the WONDERS of fashion. Through this 2 hour journey, Sachs learns how to dress, and, the most important thing in life, how to accessorize. She become engulfed in her job. Now, a typical movie would jump right to this strong willed woman standing up for herself and her loved ones. Not this movie- it exclaims, screw them! This is what's important! "Everybody wants to be us." It thrives on business, fashion and popularity being the most important aspect of life. There was always this little bit of doubt that maybe family and friends were more important, but it told young women they have a choice. You can stay with family and friends or you can be a success. If you are a success you will know all the right people, wear all the right clothes, and clothes ARE important! Do not forget that fashion is all around you- even that ugly cerulean sweater you may have bought on clearance for 3.99 at T.J.Maxx. (I threw out my cerulean crayon.) The movie stresses the importance and artistic value of clothing, which I'm sure does have some resonance in the fashion world, but for me, in my ripped sweatpants and free tee-shirt I got from some college event, I felt physically offended by its message.
Of course, in the last five minutes of the film (SPOILER) Andy realized the error of her ways and runs home to her (ex?) boyfriend ready to start back at the bottom. Isn't that sweet?
Let's go back to the story surrounding Hathaway's character. Frumpy girl finds herself in a very high up position. She gets a makeover and suddenly is gorgeous and wonderful. She realizes she's in over her head and that she is forgetting about and losing touch with her friends. Why does that sound familiar? Oh, because it's the same plotline as Princess Diaries! (Except with the lack of nasally humor from Heather Matarazzo.) Enough said.
There was only one aspect of this movie that, for me, made it actually enjoyable, and that was the performance by Meryl Streep. She managed to take this horrible, evil character and give her more substance than I have seen in a long time. She was funny, incredible, and touching. I am sometimes in awe of this woman. If I were to ever watch this movie again, I think I would fast forward to any scene that she's in because she is such a joy to watch. You hate her, but by the end you completely understand and feel for her. It's incredible: I was so infuriated with this film, yet I was absolutely in love with Streep's performance.
My problems with this film seem somewhat insignificant in the long run because I am sort of a tomboyish cynic. I must say, you will be more inclined to enjoy this film if you are of the now-matured audience that first saw Princess Diaries, and if you tend to like boderline-chick-flicky-type movies. If you watch Sex in the City, which is also directed by Prada director, David Frankel, you'll probably like this movie. If you enjoy Meryl Streep, you will absolutely adore her in this film, and no matter how you feel about my opinion on the "issues," her performance is reason enough for anyone to see it. Something to rent for a girl's night get together (unless you invite girl friends like me.)
Overall Grade: C+ (The + is for Meryl.)
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