Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Devil Wears Prada.


The Devil Wears Prada is a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name.

Enter Andy (Anna Hathaway) who dreams of becoming a journalist, and lands a job as the Second Assistant of Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), the Editor-In-Chief of the fashion magazine, Runway. It's not easy at all, as Andy soon learns, and she finds herself adapting to her new world, and making changes in her personal and professional life to deal with it.

The movie has its ups and downs. The downs- mainly Hathaway, I thought. She was hugely disappointing. Her acting seems half-hearted, you somehow can't believe in her character, on the whole, she's just wishy-washy. The ups - there are some great clothes, some really fabulous dialogue sequences (especially those of Streep's), and of course, there's Paris. Stanley Tucci puts in a minor role, and he's not bad as well. Emily Blunt is somewhat impressive as the First Assistant, who will bow to any demands her boss makes, whose job is her whole life.

And then, there's Meryl Streep herself, who gets so into the role of the bitchy boss that you find yourself wondering if she might really be like that in person. Bossy, domineering, sarcastic and hard-to-please, she's every Assistant's nightmare. But her pursed lips and "That's all!" speak volumes- I think Streep would be one of the main reasons to watch this movie.

One of the major problems I had with this movie was the way Andy's friends put her down for it, constantly made fun of her dedication and her efforts, and how her own boyfriend started shooting her down. What is wrong with trying to be good at your job? What is wrong with trying to adapt, to stick it out, when you know that many doors will open out, at the end of a year? There was tremendous shallowness of character, too much narrow-mindedness for me to enjoy the movie properly.

This movie's not that bad, but it isn't that great either. The ending's rather disappointing, it's just there, but it doesn't make you think.

Watch it for some stylish outfits, some good comic scenes, and Streep's acting. But if you're wondering if there's more- well, I thought there wasn't.

Verdict: A bit of a disappointment.

4 comments:

AbhijanB said...

whoa, you getting hard nosed nowadays with the reviews. not necessarily a bad thing mind.
nice one this.

Rhea Silvia said...

nice. though it's not a bad film, for pure mindless entertainment. I think the points you raise about the way her friends behave are very pertinent.

Animesh said...

THE MOVIE WAS LESS BORING THAN YOUR POST.

CheshireCat said...

Have read the book(which by the way nedds a Lot of editing. I mean, there's a limit to the descriptions of shoes/bags/dresses you can take.)
I think the problem that you raise is also present in the book, and though I sound like PC, it guess it's the eternal problem of a woman becoming too engrossed in her career.