- THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2
- Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci
- Directed by: David Frankel
- Running time: 1 hr 59 mins
- 20th Century Studios
Our score: 3 out of 5
Ah, sequels. Hollywood has made a killing by continuing familiar and popular stories on screen. In my book “Jaws 2: the Making of the Hollywood Sequel,” I quote my friend, Oscar nominated filmmaker and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, who notes that the only sequel that loses money is the last on.” Some film franchises (“Fast and the Furious: (10),” “Jurassic Park” (7)) have more films then your some theatres have screens, with the 11th “Fast and Furious” film due this summer. In fact, if you look at the list of the Ten Highest Grossing films of all time, (9) of them are either sequels or the origin film that spawned the sequel. But don’t fret…I’m sure someone will come up with a “Titanic 2” someday.
In “The Devil Wears Prada 2” we find the heroine of the first film, the hard-working Andy (Hathaway) at a highpoint in her career. She is about to receive an award for her hard-hitting journalism. However, that highpoint suddenly crashes when she learns that the publication she writes for is folding. She is convinced to return to “Runway” magazine, where she is once again paired with the hard-to-please editor Miranda (Streep). Once again, conflicts arise as each has their own ideas on how the future of the magazine will progress.
If you liked the first film you will no doubt like this one. I say that because the story and the conflicts are so similar you may have trouble discerning between the two films. I will say that if you are a fan of fashion and glamour, you’ll love this one, as it spends a lot of time on montages of glamourous people wearing glamourous clothes. The film plays like an extended episode of “Sex in the City” without the sex.
The films saving grace is the cast, with both Streep and Hathaway returning to characters they obviously enjoy playing and giving them new life. The supporting cast is also strong, though how can you ever go wrong when Stanley Tucci is in your film? His Nigel is the film’s most fleshed out character and the film picks up whenever he is on screen. As one might expect, the production values here are beautiful, giving a true shine to an already glamourous world.
On a scale of zero to five, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” receives ★★★