12/5/06

The Devil Wears Prada

"The Devil Wears Prada" was fun. Anne Hathaway ("Brokeback Mountain," "The Princess Diaries") is actually the central character. The book on which it is based, was written by a woman who briefly worked for Anna Wintour, who was/is the head of Vogue magazine.

Wintour has always been known as a notoriously vain, evil, demanding, self-centered bitch, now recreated with delicious glee by Meryl Streep "A Prairie Home Companion" and "The Manchurian Candidate"), who obviously got a huge kick out of playing a fictitious, glammed-up version of her.

Hathaway plays the whipping boy/girl who applies for the chronically vacant assistant editor's job simply because she is a journalist and wants a chance to write for "Runway" (a fictitious version of Vogue). Her character has never read the magazine and she is obviously tone-deaf when it comes to haute couture.

We enjoy a competent supporting cast, comprised of Emily Blunt ("The Jane Austen Book Club"), who portrays a fellow sufferer/arch rival; and Stanley Tucci ("Swing Vote"), in the de rigueur role of the gay mentor who provides our heroine with fashion tips, wardrobe and a shoulder to cry on.

This movie makes a point of illustrating how petty and arbitrary Streep's character can be; AND, she never lets up or changes! According to what I see/hear/read, Wintour is exactly like that! Yikes!