The Devil Wears Prada 2 review: Catty, cat-walk catnip intact as Miranda Priestly et al are back in vogue
David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada – a Faustian romp set in a fictional take on Vogue magazine – goes on release. It mines these things to outrageous effect, giving us a plucky Cinder-Elle (Anne Hathaway) who lands a job under Meryl Streep’s glass-chewing editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly.In its shrugging depiction of the fashion industry’s deeply problematic relationship with food and body shape, it wanted to have its cake and eat it, so to speak.Andy Sachs (Hathaway) is seduced by Runway’s trappings and toxic culture, but the film also revelled in those things. They were prezzies under the tree for audience-goers, droves of which held their nose and propelled it to a box-office bonanza.Bitchy, fabulously attired and lightly dusted with a princess sparkle, a perennial girls-night-in favourite was birthed. To this day, it is watched and rewatched, often ceremoniously, for a fix of its glamorous nectar.Which brings us to 2026. Stick-thin is no longer in. Bad workplace manners have been (thankfully) outlawed. And let’s not even talk about print media’s changing fortunes.Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway return with aplomb in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'. Photo: Macall PolayLots, in other words, for a Devil Wears Prada follow-up to negotiate before it has even sashayed on to the film set. A sequel would have work on its hands to keep the catty, cat-walk catnip intact while arranging the staple ingredients on a landscape starkly at odds with the first film.The good news is that the legs that kept the 2006 outing firmly upright are reinstated.Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna return, as does a core cast – Streep, Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt – that has put on muscle in the two decades. Tucci’s Nigel might as well have walked in straight from an Italian food documentary, but Streep remains imperious as the iconic board-room diva.Hathaway and Blunt, meanwhile, arrive back as Hollywood heavyweights routinely in demand by your Nolans and Villeneuves, with Blunt’s acid-tongued Emily (here having been elevated to the prestigious role of Dior boss) stealing the show in any scene she’s in.From the off, times are indeed a-changin’. No sooner is Andy collecting a journalism award, than she and her newspaper colleagues are made redundant as part of sweeping cuts. It coincides with a PR disaster over at Runway magazine. Who better than Andy, who walked away from Miranda’s pressure cooker all those years ago, to become Runway’s new features editor.The reunion is a cold one – at least it is with Miranda, who needs reminding who exactly Andy is. With budgets slashed and online clicks the name of the game, the ice-queen-in-chief is struggling with evolving attitudes and political correctness. Gone are the days of dumping her coat and bag on her assistant’s desk each morning.With Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci back on board, there's a familiarity about 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' that will provide comfort for fans. Photo: Macall PolayImpressing Miranda won’t be easy, but Andy reckons she can restore some editorial credibility to the brand ahead of a lavish presentation at Milan Fashion Week.When tragedy strikes, Andy, Miranda and Nigel have to save Runway from an iffy acquisition, and things suddenly fall in line with du jour screen-entertainment leanings by getting a little bit Succession-y. Cameos pop up, from the predictable (Donatella Versace, Lady Gaga) to the lesser-spotted (Rory McIlroy, Niall Williams).Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly and Stanley Tucci as Nigel Kipling. Photo: Macall PolayI never loved The Devil Wears Prada, but I could see why many people did. Watching this new instalment, it becomes quickly apparent that that cohort will be amply catered for. It is, first and foremost, a movie for them, the true believers who have waited all this time.Normally, this is a risible stance for any film to take, one that excludes newcomers, but there is a little more going on here than merely “shut up and play the hits”.It’s no good just bringing everyone back and making them look the part. Better to put these familiar characters in a new situation with new challenges and see how they fare. Andy will still gush, Miranda and Emily will still roll their eyes, but they might reveal sides unseen. And so it is the case with Frankel’s second outing.While unlikely to court awards as the 2006 film did, it would be churlish to say Prada 2 doesn’t do these simple things rather well. Perfectly fit for purpose, in other words – and that will never go out of fashion.Four stars
