The Devil Wears Prada 2 – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Director – David Frankel
Writers – Aline Brosh McKenna, Lauren Weisberger
Stars – Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt

The Devil Wears Prada has already been a novel, an iconic movie and a stage musical. Why take the risk of a sequel? Why try to repeat a success, and how do you go about it? Well, the odds were in their favour. The core cast of the original hit was not only available twenty years later, but appear to be ageless on screen.  It’s as if we join these familiar characters the following week rather than two decades later.

Meryl Streep is as fabulous as Miranda Priestley as ever. Hathaway retains that ingénue innocence that is timeless, Emily Blunt has a wonderful edge, and Tucci delivers a loyal continuum that ensures the plot remains as consistent as it is fresh.

There is a purpose behind the sequel, which is indicative and interesting. The delicious rivalry, glares, looks and one-liners are all there in abundance, but it is almost as if these characters wanted to show us more of what makes them tick, beneath the lavish, coiffed, sculptured surfaces.

Molly Rogers, as costume designer, channelled her inner Prada, with the help of the designer’s palate, to create a feast of fabric, elegance and styling from the fantastic to the fabulous! The clothing is luxurious, exaggerated, tailored and expensive. The fashion show sequences are exquisitely done.  The quality design forms a beautiful backdrop to the skullduggery, backstabbing, ambitions, champagne, power and control that pushes the boundaries of the on-screen relationships as we still craved from the original that has remained with its loyal fan base forever. They will not be disappointed.

We are welcomed back as voyeurs of an outlandish, expensive New York lifestyle, where money is plentiful, people are dispensable and fashion supremacy is king. The purpose of this sequel is to resolve and reveal. It is well structured by the writers, with Miranda having a loyal and loving husband in Kenneth Branagh, so she is human after all…isn’t she?

Hathaway’s Andy is still in flux, but there is hope. Her award-winning journalistic career has occupied her time in the passing decades, and Patrick Brammal makes an authentic potential partner. But this plot, as the original, is where women triumph, and Streep, Hathaway, Blunt, Lui, Ashley, Thoms and Gaga dominate the storyline and the style.

There is no expense spared despite the plot being burdened by cost-cutting zeal of the next generation of fashion gurus. Top models, celebrities from Jenna Bush Hager to Rory McIlroy, pop up in all the party scenes and add to the contemporary sense of the new storyline.

Expect lots of comedy and some great looks, glares and one-liners. Surprisingly, this is accompanied by a great score from Shapiro and a big heart emerging from many other characters besides the empathetic Andy.

There is some fine resolution of previous relationships, some new love interests and the confirmation that no one does business better at the top than this crew who dominated and thrilled twenty years ago. They are truly back, bigger, better and… a bit nicer than ever.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a visual treat that wows. The sequences in New York are only topped by the opulence of Milan. The style is awesome, and there is no doubt that this sequel works well. In fact, there is a hint in the storyline that there may be a third one, as Miranda might eventually hang up her stilettoes! It was well worth the wait!