Review of 'The Devil Wears Prada'

New graduate Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) lands a job that, little does she know, “a million girls would kill for” as assistant to Chief editor of top-selling fashion magazine “Runway” Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy is immediately thrown into the deep end for the demanding and opinionated Miranda but quickly manages to get on her feet and addresses her lack of any sort of dress sense with the assistance of the delightfully camp art director Nigel (Stanley Tucci) and his incredible fashion wardrobe. As Andy becomes more and more involved in the fashion industry she becomes distant from her boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier), and best friend, Lily (Tracie Thoms). Will she find a way to balance her new life in keeping the things that matter most?

This is a bit of a cult favourite and now a Broadway musical with some incredibly over the top performances from, of course, Meryl Streep but also Stanley Tucci - This is a world of extremes and something that fish-out-of-water Andy must come to terms with if she wants to survive. It's morally dubious premise is quickly lost track of as we simply will Andy to figure it all out and not lose herself in the process. There is a lot of fun along the way with all of this but it is never entirely “laugh out loud” funny but it is certainly amusing throughout. It is also never entirely cruel - There is an underlying humanity of everyone, yes, including Miranda who eventually appreciates and admires her new assistant. There are also a lot of cameos from the great and the good in the fashion industry of the early 2000s giving it the air of believability which adds to the subtle sense of terror you experience watching it though I can imagine the industry looks on knowingly.

A light and enjoyable film that tries to come to terms with a demanding industry that eats the souls of those involved. I found it fairly disturbing with the idea that it is even vaguely what goes on…but it is worth watching for Streep and Tucci alone (two of my all-time favourite actors). What I also found disturbing is the obsession with the pursuit of superficial perfection…but that, perhaps, is just me.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2026-11-01

Directed by: David Frankel

Studio: Fox 2000 Pictures

Year: 2006

Length: 109 minutes

Genre: Melodrama

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458352/

• The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)