Devil Wears Prada 2: Spoiler-free review

May is a month that never disappoints me. And this year, my favorite month brings the premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2”! And well... I'm bursting with excitement because the premiere took place a few days earlier in Germany!

The first one

This movie, along with Titanic and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, is one of the ones I’ve watched the most times in my life.

The outfits, the nods to photographers, designers, and models, and the incredible cameos. The icing on the cake? The performances by Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Meryl Streep. So far, I haven’t seen a movie starring any of them that I didn’t like.

Aside from the amazing clothes and Andy Sachs’ journey through the fashion world—you know, “Don't be ridiculous Andrea, e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y wants this”—the movie is also a lesson in staying true to yourself.

From the first time I saw the first movie, I was so annoyed by Andy’s boyfriend, and well, the fans made sure his “villain” label was just as notorious as Miranda’s. In different ways, but both of them challenged Andy’s principles and beliefs, to the point where she took a step back and chose herself… Queen!

References and nods for the fans

The film’s score maintains the same rhythm as the first installment, which, combined with the return of the original leads and several supporting characters, creates a very satisfying sense of continuity.

Iconic scenes like the discussion about which belt to choose, followed by the lecture on cerulean blue, are referenced more than once in the film—let me know if you spotted them.

Of course, the line “Andrea was one of your Emilies” couldn’t be left out, alluding to Miranda’s habit of not wasting time memorizing people’s names.

Among other more subtle but equally significant nods are: the film’s opening scene, the clothes Andy wears in the final scenes, Andy warning Amari not to go up to the second floor of Miranda’s house, Miranda inferring that Andy must take public transportation, or Emily ordering wedge fries at the café.

For someone like me who’s seen The Devil Wears Prada so many times, these little references give you that feeling of sitting down with friends to reminisce about old times, knowing the full context of every anecdote—which doesn’t need to be spelled out.

I’m sure that if you’re a fan too, you’ll find plenty more nods to the first movie.

About the toxicity in the workplace

In the first movie, Miranda speaks her mind, and her zero tolerance for what she considers a clear waste of time—such as explaining what kind of skirts the 20 Calvin Klein skirts Emily is supposed to bring should be—is evident throughout the film.

Other habits of hers, such as arriving and tossing her coat on Emily’s desk, interrupting people with the well-known phrase “That’s all!”, forgetting the names of her employees and colleagues, and generally preventing her immediate team from achieving any work-life balance, make the toxicity of this work environment abundantly clear.

Coming from Mexico, where unfortunately, toxic work environments are a reality for many, Miranda’s demands resonate. Especially when the salary doesn’t match the high expectations placed on employees—under the guise of “going the extra mile” or being part of “a team that’s more like a family”—they are blackmailed into giving up any chance of setting boundaries.

The toxicity of Runway, as we see it in the first film, has been or still is the reality for many Millennials like me, who grew up with our parents’ extremely high standards and expectations. In their day, hard, honest work was enough to build wealth, but we’ve been dealt a reality of inflation, an expensive housing market, and salaries falsely labeled as “competitive.”

So what else could we do? Put up with it, tough it out—maybe even shed a few tears in the office bathroom—and keep going because the credit card bill, mortgage, or student loan isn’t going to pay itself.

For Gen Z, much of this toxicity and that emotional blackmail that “we’re all in the same boat” just doesn’t work the same way anymore. And just as in our personal lives, setting boundaries is slowly becoming the norm at work, too.

The first film in the Devil Wears Prada series came out in 2006, so for me it was inevitable to wonder how the new film would tackle the workplace atmosphere at Runway, and I think they pulled it off very well.

Without spoilers, there’s a scene that perfectly encapsulates what I mean: in a boardroom, Miranda and her closest collaborators are reviewing the content for the magazine’s next issue. Clearly annoyed, she criticises the results of a photo shoot, comparing the atmosphere of the shoot and the images to people with addiction problems. Her assistant immediately corrects her, saying, “You can’t say something like that.” Miranda proceeds to express her disapproval and says something negative again in a more moderate tone, to which her assistant reacts once more and corrects her.

I consider it a success that, although Miranda’s character retains her essence, the work environment at Runway—still demanding and fraught with real problems like budget cuts, the digitisation of media, and the battle against the algorithm—reflects changes in what employees are just no longer willing to tolerate.

Even though the movie is entertaining and generally has that optimism typical of a dramatic comedy, it also touches on real-world issues like mass layoffs, the replacement of writers and other creative roles with Artificial Intelligence, and other changes that both Millennials and Gen Z are all too familiar with.

Back to 2006

The rivalries introduced in the first film couldn’t go without a follow-up. Some are more obvious (like Emily’s disapproval of Andy), while others are less direct (like when Miranda denies Nigel a promotion)—all of which are referenced in the second film.

This film follows the trend that animated films like Coco, Encanto, or Red have executed quite well, in which there is no obvious villain, but rather characters facing realities more complex than a plan to take over the world.

The seemingly cold Miranda, who for much of the first film appears to disapprove of and belittle Andy, sees potential in her. And even though she doesn’t say it outright, she makes it clear that she’s proud of her.

Miranda’s public persona, always even-tempered and calculating, is contrasted with scenes from her personal life. Similarly, in the second installment, Miranda is a multi-layered character, and she’s far from being just the villain of the story.

Unlike Gladiator 2, which, while entertaining and a good source of eye candy, The Devil Wears Prada 2 builds on the story without simply repeating the same formula.

Imagine the hard work involved in taking a film as popular as this one and continuing the saga! With all the fans’ expectations, not to mention the challenge of developing the characters and determining how they evolved over the time that has passed.

In The Devil Wears Prada 2, it’s made clear that 20 years have passed, and that the worlds of fashion and journalism have changed. And while we can recognise the essence of the characters, we also get glimpses of their personal lives that help us piece together their current professional and personal situations.

In conclusion, screenwriters Aline Brosh McKenna and Lauren Weisberger, along with director David Frankel, manage—20 years later—to give us an “update” on the main characters’ lives, the workplace, the internet’s “cancel culture,” and more.

I liked it, I enjoyed it, and I suspect I’ll watch it several more times.

In my opinion, this movie pays homage to the first one and eases some of the nostalgia that we Millennials feel when thinking about the more bearable aspects of life in 2006. That’s why I dare say that perhaps for others, as it is for me, it’s a hug for our Millennial souls.

If you are also a fan of this saga, let me know in the comments what you are looking forward to the most in the Devil Wears Prada 2 movie.

#LviBlog #Expresión #Entretenimiento #Películas #Opinión