Start with this premise. The “Devil Wears Prada 2” is dazzling, glitzy fun. That, in itself, is a very good reason for arranging your week around a screening near you.
Much has been written, said, prompted, promoted, compared, contrasted and several other action verbs about this devilishly amusing cinematic bon-bon. But, if one settles into a dark theatre with popcorn and a giant soda, rest assured that the two hour international scramble is going to be fun.
This is a fully scripted star turn for the four principals who made the first iteration of the theme cinematic legends. Reading from left to right, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are at the peak of their games. They parry. They thrust. They back stab. They ambush. They parade around Manhattan and Milan, tossing in a bit of the Hamptons and Lake Como like they belong there. They wear stunning outfits, hob-nob with icons of music and sport and business and generally live a life that is pure fantasy. They’re wonderful. Anne Hathaway is radiant and watching Meryl Streep command the screen is nothing short of witnessing an artistic treasure. The result of the twists and turns, the intrigue and the deception is, simply, fun.
As if the inside view of high fashion were not enough to dazzle the audience, the addition of cameo appearances by such international celebrities as Rory McIlroy, Jon Batiste, Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Klum, Jenna Bush Hauer and Tina Brown make the parties fantastic. Overlay the high stakes world of fashion publishing evolving from print to on-line immediacy, and … being honest here … the slightly unbelievable plot all seems to make sense.
And, oh wait. Is that Lady Gaga? Performing an original song in the midst of Milan Fashion Week dedicated to the fictitious publication “Runway” that is at the heart of the story seems so appropriate. The film begins with Dua Lipa’s “End of an Era” and is seasoned throughout with pieces by Alanis Morissette, Olivia Dean, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Ray LaMontagne and U2 … among others. The playlist, alone, is worth experiencing.
Aside from the four acting titans who form the core of Aline Brosh McKenna’s script, written with the novelist Lauren Weisberger who penned the book that inspired the first “Devil …” film, this sequel includes Kenneth Branagh as Miranda Priestly’s (Meryl Streep) long-suffering husband and Lucy Liu whose role as the billionaire divorcee emerges as the “MacGuffin” on which the story turns.
Oscar winning director David Frankel exhibits a precise sense of timing with his cast, a very refined eye for the intimacy of high fashion and a wonderful sense of sweeping visuals that act as chapter headings for the film. His past work on “The Morning Show” is evident in the way he has his actors subtly insert the dialog dagger and then, with panache, turn it.
So, sit back, and enjoy. This is going to be fun.