Twenty years after the Oscar-nominated first film, the stars return for The Devil Wears Prada 2, a film with the courage not to rely on nostalgia — but no willingness to innovate. The results are funny and pleasant but decidedly light.
The Devil Wears Prada 2, a Sequel Review
Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) returns, picked up by Runway when her high-minded newspaper undergoes budget cuts. She steers the publication through a minor public-relations flap while renewing polite hostilities with Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the publication’s clever and condescending editor-in-chief.
There are obstacles — an unhappy advertiser represented by former colleague Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), a stalwart chairman (Tibor Feldman) replaced by his clueless son (B.J. Novak) — but none add up into a serious complication or even a consistent plot.
At one point, Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) bemoans the small size of print magazines in the age of digital; a recent issue of Runway, the film’s stand-in for Vogue, was “so thin you could floss with it,” he says. The script, by returning scribe Aline Brosh McKenna, acknowledges the considerable changes in the publishing world in the decades since the original film debuted. Yet these threats are always fleeting; there’s always another money man to be called, another deal to be made.
It Looks Good, But Don’t Read It Cover to Cover
There are genuine laughs; Streep, a Best Actress nominee for the first film, embodies the character’s wit and cutting charm beautifully. There’s also a society page worth of special guest appearances — this will probably be the only film to feature both NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns and presidential offspring Jenna Bush Hager — many of which are fun, if not impactful.
There’s also an unannounced A-list star in the third reel; good thing, because by then, you’ll likely have checked out. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is thoroughly agreeable, and director David Frankel elegantly depicts both New York and Milan, but the story can’t support the film’s 119-minute runtime.
Fashionistas and Streep (or Tucci) superfans won’t regret buying a ticket. For the rest of us, save this one for your next transcontinental flight; it’ll eat up miles and might even lull you into a midair slumber.
An Animal Farm That Orwell Probably Didn’t Imagine, and More New Releases
The title Animal Farm lends itself to an animated feature. The content of George Orwell’s dystopian novel… not so much. That didn’t stop comedy writer Nicholas Stoller and director Andy Serkis, who have adapted the book into an all-ages parable, complete with slapstick jokes and celebrity voices. Reviews aren’t kind; writing for Consequence, Liz Shannon Miller says, “There are bad movies, and then there are movies that drain all life and joy out of a person’s soul.”
Perhaps young viewers will be better off at home: Swapped, a new animated feature from Netflix, features a loaded voice cast headlined by newly minted Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan.
Speaking of last year’s awards season, I Swear, the biography of a Tourette’s advocate that became an unfortunate point of controversy, expands to more American screens this weekend. By all accounts, the film is nuanced and powerful — unlike the ensuing flap.
AMC has a fun theme in its Thrills & Chills horror series: You Didn’t Stay Out of the Woods, a group of fright flicks set in remote cabins. They’ll show the 4K Director’s Cut of 2002’s Cabin Fever on May 1, then The Cabin in the Woods on May 8.
Story by Sean Collier
Featured Photo by Macall Polay Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
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