The Devil Wears Prada 2

The hardest part of making this sequel to the thoroughly enjoyable 2006 original was probably getting the cast together — once Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt were signed on, the film was essentially sold. The screenplay, however, tells a different story: it feels like an afterthought. The film is charming, and the trio — along with the supporting cast — is a genuine pleasure to watch, but there’s little beneath the glossy surface. Unless name-dropping Gucci, Chanel, and their ilk is enough to keep you entertained, don’t look for much more. Fans of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) and her former assistant Andy (Anne Hathaway) from two decades ago will find this a breezy reunion. Remarkably, neither actress appears to have aged a day — and the same goes for Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.

The original 2006 film adapted from the novel by Lauren Weisberger, was a glossy workplace comedy that quickly became much bigger than its premise of a stressed assistant navigating fashion’s most terrifying boss. Inspired by Weisberger’s own experiences in magazine publishing, the David Frankel-directed film presented a sharp, endlessly quotable pop culture favourite with influence that stretched beyond cinema into fashion, and internet meme history, with Miranda lines like “That’s all” and “By all means, move at a glacial pace.”

बॉलीवुड हो या हॉलीवुड, पुराने-आइकॉनिक फिल्मों के सीक्वल लाने का दौर इन दिनों दोनों ही जगह जोरशोर से चल रहा है। हालांकि, दर्शकों की यादों का हिस्सा रहीं यादगार फिल्मों के रुतबे को गिनती के ही सीक्वल कायम रख पाते हैं। इस मामले में मेरिल स्ट्रीप और ऐनी हैथवे स्टारर बेहद पॉपुलर फिल्म ‘द डेविल वियर्स प्राडा’ का सीक्वल मूल फिल्म के कद को भले नहीं छू पाता, लेकिन अतीत के नॉस्टैल्जिया और आज की मीडिया जगत की चुनौतियों के सुंदर मेल के कारण मनोरंजन की कसौटी पर खरा उतरता है।

The world must be changing fast and beyond recognition if even Miranda Priestly can’t afford to be nonchalant anymore. Played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film, it was a rare instance of a star marrying the material. Streep, in her 50s then, was planning to retire from Hollywood (which she revealed in an interview recently), when a studio offered her to play the Darth Vader of bosses from hell – the kind who does more damage with a well-timed sigh than most can with 20-minute rants. Priestly, a demanding editor-in-chief for the fashion magazine Runway, also had the layer of an ambitious woman fending off sharks at work.

I have no idea why The Devil Wears Prada 2 has been given an ‘adult’ certification, which translates to the fact that those under 18 can’t watch the film. What it should have come with — without a shade of doubt — is a massive trigger warning for journalists, especially those who still believe in the integrity and impact of the written word. Many will enjoy the sequel — it will be a big summer blockbuster for sure, though it will not have the lasting legacy of the 2006 original — but for many journalists like myself (especially those who in lifestyle and entertainment journalism), The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits too close to the bone. I went in wanting to relax, throw my head back and laugh. I didn’t quite manage to.

An entire generation has grown up watching, loving and taking inspiration from The Devil Wears Prada. The film, released in 2006, went on to achieve cult status in subsequent years. And so, when the sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, was announced, the news was welcomed with excitement and scepticism from ardent fans of the original. It is never easy to match up to a classic with sequels. The fact that the makers managed to bring back the majority of the original cast and crew - including the lead cast, director and writer- back on board for the sequel helped to keep the continuity. But the burden of expectation was huge right from the time the filming of The Devil Wears Prada 2 began, with social media flooding with BTS sequences from the film set. Some felt overexposure would kill the excitement way before the film even released, but instead, the images and some aggressive marketing before the film’s release have only piqued everyone’s curiosity about the film. The good news is that The Devil Wears Prada 2 delivers to a great extent. But if you channel your inner Miranda Preistly, part 2 of the iconic film is not ‘groundbreaking’.

An editorial crisis pushes Runway, a legacy fashion magazine grappling with ownership changes and survival challenges, to bring back Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), now an experienced journalist tasked with rebuilding its narrative and image. Can she reunite with her former boss, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), years after walking away? “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” In an industry as cutthroat as media, this sentiment often runs cold. Success is frequently associated with being sly and ruthless, but journalist Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), now in her 40s, continues to see it differently.