One liners steal the show
The Devil Wears Prada 2 serves up a rich feast. Best of all are the oneliners.
“Remember when magazines were a thing”, Emily Charlton trills.
“I love to work. It comes at a cost” (A Mirandaism for all ages) . Work brings joy.
“Pull yourself together, we have work to do. And by we, I mean you “(Miranda on her plan to find her own billionaire (Lucy Lui) to buy Runway magazine.
“May the bridges I burn, light my way” (Emily)
“Look at what TJ Maxx dragged in. …She was one of the Emilys “ (Stanley Tucco as Nigel)
The entire Cast comes back with some new and equally good new members. Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs is perhaps a little wiser and more confident., She has won a Golden Keyboard award for her rigorous ethical and investigative reporting.
The Media is now controlled by tech billionaires. One of them is described by Andy as “sucking the soul out of everything”. The entrepreneur Benji Barnes (played by Justin Theroux) hopes to fire journalists and replace them with AI, feeding is the new age of AI interference. The ice queen has softened, Some questions she asks with genuine confusion “Some bodies are very body positive. But why”.
The Runway magazine is on life support weathering the trying times of transformation. The biggest issue of the year is a shadow of its former self. Editor in Chief Miranda Priestly (Streep) comments “the September issue is so thin you could floss with it’
A 20 year old chemistry has ripened fantastically. Andy is brought in to rehabilitate Runway’s tarnished image. She is able to stand up to Miranda, understands her complex nature and helps her to navigate the new algorithmic tech-driven corporate landscape.
People are working together to make things happen, loyalties are tested. There are underlying questions relating to best fit “you belong here versus you don’t belong here”, In keeping with the spirit of confidence building, Emily comes out with the amazing line directed to Andy, “You have changed you are more confident, Kept your eyebrows though didn’t you”’. What a scream that is.
The interaction between the Runway team and the Mckinsey management consultants delivers satirical dialogue. The corporate data-driven optimization sits in contrast with Miranda’s elitist, visionary world. “Unleash the beast and downsize,” . the consultants advise, using aggressive, cliché corporate technology to pitch restructuring the magazine’s traditional layout.
As part of the budget cuts Miranda is having to fly economy on airplanes, ditch her chauffeur for Ubers and she is at a cross roads, fleetingly considering if she should retire.
Now for the good news. Nigel steps up, using his limited resources to orchestrate a stunning tribute show in Milan, defiantly celebrating Runway’s legacy despite corporate restrictions. At its best, the creative team fights back against corporate austerity. Nigel possesses a realistic understanding of changing times and he wants to save the soul of Runway.
Driving a business solely with metrics and corporate optimisation isn’t the same as defining its artistic direction
Emily, now a senior executive at a massive luxury conglomerate controlling Dior, handles the budget cuts by weaponsing them. She executes a high stakes power move, attempt to size control of the Runway brand entirely and oust Miranda.
“You don’t have what it takes. I am sorry, but your not a visionary. You’re a vendor Miranda says to Emily during her bid to take over the company using commercial numbers driven tech backing.
The role of journalists, the function of the media and the identity of fashion is under the microscope. Online advertisements are designed for short digital attention spans.
Alongside this is an exploration of the intimacy offered by the workplace. The tensions between ambition, opportunity and purposeful journalism versus a drive for clicks remain.
Miranda is not sure whether Runway has a corporate cafeteria. Andy and Nigel sit together in the cafeteria, highlighting how much their bond has outlasted the changing, cold media landscape.
Andy pushes Miranda to remember that the core value of Runway’s media brand lies in human judgement, taste and true cultural reporting rather than social media algorithms. She also possesses the journalistic integrity needed to expose the boardroom coup. The new owners are forced to acknowledge Runway’s cultural power
Andy, Miranda and Nigel are navigating the modern landscape of algorithms and budget cuts “clinging to the last piece of wood from the Titanic while silently agreeing that the only response to a shifting world is to roll up their sleeves and produce work that has true human value.
Meryl Streep’s performance is as compelling as ever. This brilliant sequel while showing the personal cost of maintaining a glamourous façade, leaves you gasping for more.
