The Devil Wears Prada

Meryl Streep – I smell Oscar! She was so good as the evil but still human Miranda, you completely lose sight of the actress and can only see that steely hair and determination.

Overall, the story was good, although there were several Disney-slapsticky moment – like when Andy goes to deliver “the book” and the evil twins get her to break the rules. Also, far too many skinny women and the ongoing jokes about dieting and dress sizes, while I’m sure are the reality of the fashion world, made things a bit too comic sometimes. However, the collective audience gasp when Miranda tells Andy that she must break the news to Emily about Paris was great. (Jodi - I loved when Miranda is talking about Emily like she's not there and reflecting "I said to myself 'take a chance, hire the FAT girl..." I was laughing - but Emily, whose character seemed grounded, actually cries!)

I recognized in this story elements of the film Wall Street, with the evil Michael Douglas tormenting his apprentice Charlie Sheen. However, in most stories about male executive and their staff, the men are usually doing something illegal. In this tale, Miranda’s only crime against humanity is that she is a total bitch. Another difference – it is clear throughout the story that, despite her evil ways, Miranda has created not just an empire but a legacy, with many designers, executives, models, reporters, etc. becoming successful on their own due entirely to their time with her. To overstate it a bit, nasty female executives build up the people around them, with minimal backstabbing and nothing illegal, and end up alone and admired but unloved for their troubles. Nasty male executives build up their empires on the bones of their people, with no regard for the success of anyone but themselves, and end up in jail. That is likely reading way too much into this story.

Other tidbits: the clothes were amazing – who has time/money/energy to dress like that every day? And who can actually walk around all day in stilettos? – and music was also very good. The story line about Andy’s personal life was not done much justice, and while I was a bit sad that she and Zack went their separate ways, she did not seem to mind much, and part of me was hoping that things would work out with hunky New Yorker reporter, despite his sleaziness (although even this was not firmly established).

Stanley Tucci was also great in a supporting role (hint, hint).

- Robyn