The Devil Wears Prada 2 Review

There’s a scene about halfway through The Devil Wears Prada 2 where we see Miranda Priestly – the ruthless, commanding, and visionary Editor-in-Chief of Runway magazine; unapologetic badass and chief antagonist of the first movie – flying coach. The humiliating circumstance is played for laughs but also serves as an emblem for the movie as a whole. Here is an iconic, cunning individual, inordinately famous in both her own world and ours, reduced to a middle seat between her assistant and a man eating a gigantic sandwich.

This bit of relatable humor is hilarious in the moment and also representative of the experience of watching The Devil Wears Prada 2: it may not be exactly what we were expecting, but it’s definitely going to get Miranda, and the rest of us, where we wanted to go.

When we last saw Miranda (Meryl Streep) all the way back in 2006, she was at the height of her powers: supremely in control of her publishing fief and the key voice in the world of high fashion. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), her erstwhile assistant and aspiring “real journalist,” had enough of Miranda’s abuse – throwing her ringing cell phone into a fountain in Paris and never looking back. But my, how the times have changed.

When we meet up with Andy again 20 years later, she seems to have finally made it. She’s a respected writer at a reputable publication and generally happy with her life. So why, on God’s green Earth, would she ever decide to go back to Runway? Well, the answer is a simple one: Andy needs a job. Andy gets sacked, along with the rest of her team, just as she’s about to receive an award for her work. Soon, Andy finds herself drawn back into the fast-paced world of fashion at the invitation of Runway big boss Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman).

Andy is summoned to be Runway’s new features editor, and bring some gravitas to the flailing operation, after the company becomes embroiled in a scandal – they got into bed with a fast fashion company that was revealed to be a blatant sweatshop operation. Andy’s eagerness to jump back into Miranda’s orbit is a bit of a stretch given the amount of abuse she suffered during the first movie, but at least the conceit gets the gang back together.

From there, The Devil Wears Prada 2 plays the hits. The music, editing, and direction are all reminiscent of the first film. There’s another “Andy frantically phones around to fulfill an impossible task” montage, and cameos abound (hello Lady Gaga, Heidi Klum, and Jon Batiste, just to name a few). Just like the original, there are enough meme-worthy one-liners to fill your group chats for the next decade. “Look what TJ Maxx dragged in,” “Shared carbs have no calories,” and “May the bridges I burn light my way” are sure to roll around in your head long after the credits roll. Once again, the settings (the Hamptons! Milan! A converted New York brownstone!) are immersive and aspirational. Likewise, both the cinematography and the costumes (of course) are a visual feast. There’s even a reimagining of Andy’s now-infamous cerulean sweater.

Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci slip back into their roles as if they’re a pair of luxurious Gucci loafers. Now a high-powered executive for Dior, Blunt’s Emily Charlton is still the same insecure yet caring person from the first film, and still masking that humanity with judgemental, biting wit. As Miranda’s ever-present underboss Nigel, Tucci is once again the beating heart of the film. He expertly guides Andy as she re-enters the world of Runway and serves as both a supportive co-worker and constant reality check. Late in the movie Nigel finally, finally, gets his moment in the sun. But, as is often the case with Tucci, the scene is understated and eloquent.

If you were a fan of the first Devil Wears Prada, there’s a lot here to love. That’s not to say the movie doesn’t bring anything new. While the original film was an investigation of workplace power and what it takes to succeed in an industry that’s essentially a walled garden, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a withering examination of the current publishing landscape. The sequel ponders topics like who’s allowed to be influential and what the media’s place in society at large is.

The scandal that brings Andy back to Runway has sent advertisers fleeing. In an age with declining traffic and fewer eyeballs looking at her work, Miranda finds herself in a familiar position – trying to justify Runway’s existence, albeit this time on a more existential level. Sharks begin circling and budget cuts come down hard (no more private cars or hired jets). As the movie progresses, Runway’s very survival is in question, and various pairings of Emily, Miranda, and Andy scheme to influence what comes next.

Appearances by Lucy Liu and Justin Theroux as billionaire ex-spouses play into the drama as an unobtainable interview subject for Andy and an archetypical tech bro playboy, respectively. BJ Novak shows up giving his best Ryan-from-The-Office-if-he-were-a-nepo-baby impression as Irv’s son Jay. Kenneth Branagh is underused as Miranda’s caring musician husband and both Simone Ashley (Bridgerton) and Caleb Hearon (Pizza Movie) show up as Miranda’s latest harried assistants. Newcomer Helen J. Shen joins the cast as Andy’s own assistant and Tracie Thoms returns as Andy’s longtime friend Lily to serve as her motivator-in-chief.

But, even with Easter eggs galore and a who’s-who of celebrity appearances, the movie lives and dies with the relationship between Andy and Miranda. These two characters have been household names for most of the 21st century and show flashes of what made them popular in the first place. But they both have definitely changed – for better or worse.

As Andy, Hathaway is as charming and radiant as ever. After two decades, Andy, deep down, is the same girl who lives the contradiction of being obsessed with her work yet not wanting it to define her. She still thinks she can change Runway – and Miranda – for the better. Andy is also a good enough journalist now to be of value to Miranda in ways Andy finds acceptable. Instead of tracking down the latest Harry Potter book, Andy writes stories for the magazine that bring in traffic and boost the company’s image. She has a new love interest, this time an Australian contractor named Peter (Colin from Accounts’s Patrick Brammall). But Andy has grown to the extent that a potential relationship doesn’t really affect how she feels about herself or her career. At one point she quickly dismisses Peter’s objections to her work with a “take it or leave it” attitude. This isn’t the same girl left dejected by an upset boyfriend while sullenly holding a cupcake like in the first movie.

Similarly, Miranda has changed, and those changes are the most frustrating aspect of the movie overall. In a word, Miranda has been defanged. She’s still incisive and cunning. But in a world where everyone seems to be watching what she does at every moment (HR included), Miranda has had to learn to adapt. No longer able to dump her coat and bag on her assistant’s desk, Miranda lives in a world where she’s forced – gasp! – to hang up her own clothing, to great comedic effect.

Has Miranda truly softened over the years? Or is it all a calculation? With Streep, perhaps the greatest actor of the past half century, you’re never quite sure. Her performance is (yet again) lights out. But the screenplay doesn’t seem to know what to definitively do with Miranda: keep her villainous or make her likeable.

Like Andy, Emily, or any other person – real or fictional – Miranda Priestly should be allowed to evolve. But the tension between that evolution and what we know and love about the character left me feeling lukewarm. The biggest change is that Miranda is happy. Frequently. Remember how the biggest character moment of the first film was when Miranda cracked a wry smile at the very end of the movie? Here Miranda is smiling all the time. She’s in a functional, caring relationship, which is nice to see. She’s up for a bigger job at Runway’s parent company and she’s downright giddy at the prospect. Despite the scandal, she seems to actually care for at least some of her employees.

Still, there are shades of the old Miranda. She pretends not to remember Andy when she shows back up at the magazine’s office. She’s quick with an insult (“You should get that looked at, that injury that causes you to trudge.”) She delivers the most scathing version of her “That’s all,” catchphrase you could imagine. But while in the first movie Miranda was a bit like Jaws – feared and always lurking – here we get Miranda overload. And much of the plot is told from her perspective, which inherently changes the type of story the movie is trying – and only occasionally succeeding – to tell.

Despite those frustrations, the expanded dynamic between Andy and Miranda is the sequel’s biggest upgrade. As much as neither would admit it, they both have come to the realization that they need each other. They’re two sides of the same coin – equally driven and deceptive, both grasping – in Miranda’s words – for that “last piece of wood floating next to the Titanic.” Miranda realizes that Andy’s focus on hard news and “real’ journalism is valuable in a changing media landscape. Likewise, Andy accepts Miranda’s calling out of her selfishness and subtle manipulations of others.

How successful you find the movie to be will depend on what you’re wanting from a Devil Wears Prada sequel. Are you looking to effortlessly slip back into the glossy and charming world of New York high fashion? If so, you’ll be delighted by the familiarity the movie provides. Are you looking for the exact same characters that you met in the first movie nearly 20 years ago? If that’s the case, you might find The Devil Wears Prada 2 a frustrating change of pace. In my book, I appreciated the changes, even if it left me longing for the Devil of old.