‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’: Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep Rekindle Their Stylish Tension in Breezily Enjoyable Sequel

Alci Rengifo

Some devils stay stubbornly firm despite the passage of time. We would expect nothing less from Miranda Priestly, the fashion magazine titan turned into an instant cult figure by Meryl Streep in 2006’s “The Devil Wears Prada.” The hit film was based on the book of the same name by Lauren Weisberger, who cleverly fictionalized her time as an assistant for legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Not only did the movie slyly poke at the fashion world, its internal workings and culture, it had universal appeal for the way it crystallized the stresses of being an assistant to any notable figure. Twenty years later “The Devil Wears Prada 2” brings back much of the old gang that made the first entry, from director David Frankel to original stars Streep and Anne Hathaway. Now the focus shifts to the kinds of underdogs being made by rapidly changing times.

Fans will recall that aspiring journalist Andy (Hathaway) walked away from rising in the ranks of Runway Magazine in the first movie after attending a Paris fashion week with Miranda. She learned much from the grueling pace of working next to the deceptively icy, but brilliant, editor before deciding her vocation was in “real” journalism. Two decades later Andy is accepting a prestigious journalism award when her entire table receives text notices that they have been fired. It is the norm nowadays with brutal budget cuts and the digital revolution wiping out classic newspaper jobs. While trying to figure out her next steps, Andy receives a surprise call from Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the owner of Runway. He offers to make Andy head of editorial after a public scandal erupts involving the magazine unknowingly praising a fast fashion sweatshop. Andy’s job is to rehabilitate the publication’s image. She arrives back at the ritzy New York offices where she was once a naïve rookie, to be welcomed back by the kind but aesthetically critical Nigel (Stanley Tucci), Miranda’s right hand. To Andy’s surprise, Miranda doesn’t even seem to remember her and is quite annoyed at corporate imposing an editor on her team. 

After two decades, could a sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada” possibly come close to matching the original’s breezy punch and pop cultural impact? No. Yet, Frankel with returning screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna have not delivered a bore. Judged apart from its predecessor, this is a fun, tardy epilogue that provides a convincing update to its world. The smart choice is made to nod at the tone of the first story without recycling it. After 20 years, we would expect everyone to be in different places, as has the overall culture. Andy thankfully seems to have dumped her friends and useless boyfriend from the first movie, who all judged her for getting a good job that kept her extremely busy (as anyone who has worked in publishing or entertainment will tell you). Their dismissal of fashion as something of value has also aged poorly. Instead of re-introducing her as some fairy tale success, the story places Andy in the context of where her kind of career is these days. No one would chastise her now for taking the Runway gig. Nigel also gives a quick update while grabbing lunch on how Runway’s physical copy barely sells anymore in a time where most readers seek it online. Written articles must also compete with social media-friendly content. Remember Andy’s old office rival Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt)? She now has a high position at Dior.

There are new assistants in the office, Amari (Simone Ashley) and Charlie (Caleb Hearon), written with sweet dialogue though the focus remains Andy. This time, she becomes a different kind of underdog. Miranda has little faith in her abilities to run editorial, so she has to produce the kind of articles that will gain quick traction. Even Miranda is forced to endure being slightly humbled when visiting Emily to secure Dior’s advertising dollars for the magazine. This is all now an environment where new young faces splash around their Harvard or Yale credentials before dropping arcane economic language. To get the needed exposure for content, Andy must track down a billionaire philanthropist, Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu), hoping to secure an interview and maybe a scoop. Everyone comes under a very modern threat when Ravitz’s son decides to bring in corporate suits to restructure Runway, threatening the legendary magazine with the kinds of budget cuts and staff layoffs we read about all the time now in the news. The dialogue also shines at times with truly funny satire about current obsessions like Ozempic. Emily is also dating a tech billionaire who sounds idiotic at the dinner table talking about potential trips to the Sun (“no one’s ever explored it!”).

Plenty of room is still made for the fashionista charms essential to this tale. Yes, we still get those moments where Nigel walks around the magazine’s grand closet to find the proper attire for Andy to shine at important functions. Famous brands are dropped around for us to take notes. Where the script can lag a bit is in extra characters that feel like obligations. Andy meets a local real estate developer (Patrick Brammall) who is nice, single and down to earth, but doesn’t do much. Miranda has also remarried to a violinist, who is played by Kenneth Branagh in what amounts to a glorified cameo. A few fashion figures like Donatella Versace make quick appearances, though the most fun one belongs to Lady Gaga as a last minute invite to a Runway event. She and Streep get gloriously catty during a backstage greet. As they maneuver around the interest of tech billionaires and a changing publishing environment, Andy and Miranda, meaning Hathaway and Streep, rekindle some of their old, tense chemistry. In the end, that’s the real treat of “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” We may not need a third one, but as a reunion, this one finds good reasons to bring everyone back together in grand fashion.

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” releases May 1 in theaters nationwide.