By K. A. Grant

In the words of Emily Charlton (played by Emily Blunt): “I’ve been looking forward to this for months.”  Carefully selected my outfit.  I closely monitored my AMC Theatres app.  I even watched the trailers non-stop.  All in preparation for this past weekend.

What Went Wrong

It was the pacing.  The Devil Wears Prada (the first film) moved at a good pace to keep audiences interested.  It wasn’t too fast and you felt like the movie was unfolding naturally.  In the sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, the first half of the movie moves at a glacial pace and it didn’t thrill me.  There are unnecessary pauses.  The conflict takes too long to make an appearance.  It’s like returning director David Frankel spent too much time trying to remind people of the previous film and not allowing it to be its own film.

The main conflict is that the world of publishing is changing; as in real life.  Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), and Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) have to be strategic in order to keep Runway magazine afloat.  Printed publications are a dying platform.  A magazine like Runway (read: a fictional version of Vogue) has to constantly make adjustments to remain intact and keep its workers employed.  I’m glad that was a major point in the movie.  Not enough people are talking about it.

Hopes Were High

Needless to write, I was excited when it came time for me to finally sit in a dark theater and watch the sequel to one of my all-time favorite films.  Like many people, I am such a big fan of The Devil Wears Prada (I read the book before the first film came out in 2006) that I’ve watched it many times over the past 20 years.  I love the great one-liners.  I love the fashion.  I just didn’t like a portion of the ending: Miranda’s divorce is brought on by her commitment to her career.  It was a “women can’t have it all message”.  While that could be true in some instances, it’s not a good message for, say, a young woman in her early twenties about to start her career.

So, when The Devil Wears Prada 2 was announced, I figured it was a way to right a wrong.  And a way to catch up with the beloved characters.  Miranda (read: a fictional version of retired Vogue editor Anna Wintour) is tame.  She’s no longer the larger-than-life character that audiences loved and were afraid of.  The Miranda in the first film had a quiet strength and power that made it so that she never yelled but you winced when she spoke.  She has been an inspiration to me.  In the sequel she’s still biting, but there’s a softness to her.  Maybe the message is that with more years on Earth, you soften with time.  Or she just adapted to the times and cancel culture.  That written, the Miranda of twenty years ago is movie villain gold and still is.

Andy is still her bubbly self who does the impossible.  She’s good at getting the job done and then some.  Her expertise as a writer and someone who is more than capable is to be admired.  Emily hasn’t changed much and we like it that way.  She’s a mean girl with great one-liners, like “May the bridges I burn light my way” and “Shared carbs don’t count”.  The only difference is she’s dripping in Dior and we love that for her.

Cameos Galore

In the first film, a lot of fashion designers opted out of participating because they didn’t want to piss off Anna Wintour.  Now that Wintour is semi-retired and has given her stamp of approval, there were many designers and celebrities chomping at the bit to be in the sequel.  Donatella Versace, Law Roach, Lady Gaga, Jon Batiste, Ronnie Chieng, Heidi Klum, Winnie Harlow, Ciara, Jenna Bush Hager, and more appear in this movie as themselves. 

Beyond the cameos there were some stellar actors in prominent roles.  Tracie Thoms returns as Andy’s long-time gallerina friend Lily.  Simone Ashley of Bridgerton fame plays Miranda’s first assistant Amari.  Lucy Liu plays a wealthy ex-wife of a tech billionaire named Sasha Barnes.  Justin Theroux plays the tech billionaire, Benji, albeit in a prosthetic that makes him look unattractive (Why?). And, Kenneth Branagh plays Miranda’s husband Stuart, who isn’t threatened by her success.  Looks like screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna finally got that part right. 

The acting talent aren’t the only exciting visuals in the movie.  The fashion is its own character.  You’ll see clothing and accessories by designers like Valentino, Dior, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Phoebe Philo, Nili Lotan, Prada, Gabriela Hearst, Coach, and much more.

Should You Watch It?

If you’re a fan of the first film, then you’ve already seen the sequel.  For the rest of you, the answer is “yes, you should see it”.  The characters are still engaging.  There are still some good one-liners.

• Nigel: “Well look what TJ Maxx dragged in.”
• Amari: “Who gives away Chanel?”
• Miranda to Emily: “You’re not a visionary, you’re a vendor.”
• Emily to Andy: “You’ve changed.  You have.  You’re much more confident.  Kept those eyebrows, though, didn’t you?”

You can read more reviews by K. A. Grant here.