At the beginning, after being unceremoniously laid off along with her co-workers, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) gives a heartfelt speech about the importance of journalism and why it still matters. You notice a spark in her eyes, as the light catches a hint of a tear at just the right angle. Towards the end, when Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) momentarily emerges from her shell and opens up to Andy, she speaks about all that she sacrificed over the years for her career. Miranda says, “I love to work, don’t you?” And right at that moment, you could spot the same spark again, caught by just the smallest hint of a tear. The one powerful emotion that overwhelms and connects both these characters, and that which forms the heart of this story, is passion. Beneath its soft visuals, whimsical tone, quirky sense of humour, and the justifiable ‘chick flick’ tag, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is essentially a modern, glossy retelling of the enduring tale of passion versus reality, tradition versus change, dreamers versus pragmatists.

Director: David Frankel
Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci

Two decades after the events of the original, fate intertwines Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), and Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) once more. All four actors slip into their characters with uncanny ease, without missing a beat and with no less intensity than how we last saw them. Even though they lead vastly different lives now, little else seems to have changed in terms of characterisation. Andy, now a Features Editor, is a bit more confident, but she is still effervescent as ever. Emily, divorced with two kids, is now a senior executive at a luxury brand. The age of political correctness has stopped Miranda from nonchalantly throwing her cloaks at assistants or calling people fat….sorry…body shaming them. After an elaborate setup, the film moves through the all-too-familiar beats of the ‘saving the farm’ storytelling formula. Runway, the fashion magazine that connects all of them, is now facing the axe, and they should all work together to save it. All four primary characters get their moment to shine, but, as cliche as it may sound, Meryl Streep still ends up owning every frame she walks in. The last hour, with Miranda trying to reconcile with the changing times and acknowledging her flaws, is one of the most poignant stretches of the film.

The cinematography leaves much to be desired, with its marked revulsion towards any sort of depth or contrast (Having said that, the snap-zooms and tasteful editing were fun). The smooth, hazy, low-resolution look is characteristic of the OTT-era corporate filmmaking. The writing mirrors the other undesirable qualities of this era as well. There seems to be a conscious effort to make this thematically layered story as unsubtle and smooth-brain-friendly as possible. It is not enough to stage a scene in a hall with a giant fresco of ‘The Last Supper’, we also need to see the characters talk about the painting, how the central theme of the painting is ‘betrayal’, how it possibly hints at an oncoming betrayal, and for good measure, the camera pans from the painting to the dinner table, with Miranda sitting at the centre. It is not enough to show Andy and her boyfriend discussing how a restructuring might destroy Runway; we have to hear the boyfriend say, “This situation is sort of like this building we are in right now, which I renovated.” These layers don’t feel like detailing when they constantly point them out to us; it just makes the characters sound artificial. The Devil Wears Prada 2 flirts with a list of interesting and relevant themes, like the increasing erosion of artistry by digital media, the insufferable techbros, the all-consuming rise of technocapitalism, and fears of AI. It would have been interesting to see these themes explored further.

The film effectively shows dreamers of contrasting shades and their enduring fight against the agents of order, of capitalistic structures. You have a dreamer like Andy who rallies everyone to protect the dream through her boundless optimism and hopeless romanticism. But then, you also need dreamers like Miranda who defend artistic expression before they are invaded by the capitalists. You need the Mirandas of the world to look them in the eye and say, “You can never do this. You are not a visionary, you are just a vendor.” It might have lacked the charm that made the original special, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a respectable addition to a franchise, one which might still have more to say than just a passing commentary on Devils and their Pradas.