Ep.10: The DevilWearsPrada 2 Review | Can Lightning Strike Twice? [SPOILERS]

Nearly two decades after The Devil Wears Prada became a cultural phenomenon, the long-awaited sequel has finally arrived. But does The Devil Wears Prada 2 live up to the legacy of the original?

In Episode 10 of The Cinephile Mind Podcast, we break down the performances, themes, and creative choices behind the return to Runway Magazine. From the evolution of iconic characters to the pressures of revisiting a beloved story, we dive deep into what works, what doesn't, and whether this sequel earns its place alongside the original.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right, today we are talking about one of the most anticipated sequels of the year, Devil Wars Prada 2, 20 years after the original, and also the return of Meryl Streep to the bridge screen, a few years after her last major role. Devil Wars Prada 2. What are your thoughts, Nick? I liked it.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

So we get the return of Ann Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Meryl Streep. Pretty much the core cast that we had from the original. There were, you know, low points in terms of how the story kind of unfolded, but I think it did a pretty good job of resolving some of those for me by the end. Plot kind of follows Andy, of course, who left Runway back two decades ago, and she followed her dream of becoming a more serious journalist. And we kind of jump right into her losing her job at a more reputable publication and kind of looking for a new avenue to re-spark her career. And then in the midst of a PR crisis at Runway, holding company president and owner reaches out to her to kind of save the publication, add to its editorial staff and features team, and yeah, just kind of bring it back to life again in the midst of this PR crisis. Um and then it kind of goes from there. So I enjoyed seeing again the same faces. I think the dynamic that they all kind of had in the first, it kind of builds on you learn a little bit more about what they've been doing over these past two decades, career-wise. And yeah, you kind of see how technology and AI and just the fashion industry as a whole has evolved, and how not even just this PR crisis that the magazine is going through, but just the general sense of how we consume media has evolved in that sort of landscape. And I think that's kind of an interesting angle for the movie to have taken, given that it's being distributed by like a big media conglomerate as Disney. So yeah, and I think that's kind of an interesting way to throw us into very real-world things that are happening at the moment and kind of grounding it against sort of the absurdity of the magazine and just the general premise of what we had from the first. There were obviously some low points for me in terms of some of the relationships. We find Andy getting into a new romantic relationship that just kind of felt like a throwaway sort of thing. I can take it or leave it with that. And then you have Merrill, who of course plays Miranda Priestley, and her relationship with Andy Sachs, of course, reprised by Anne Hathaway. And they do kind of continue their typical banter riffing, and you know, you just get sort of that sass and blase attitude from Miranda Priestley's character and see that kind of play out now.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Um, I think the interesting angle they took with it is having some like HR oversight and sort of guardrails up in different meetings and whatnot present to kind of keep Miranda in check, which is a funny angle, but I do feel like it gives us some moments of that sort of interaction and dynamic, but then it does also I think limit some of what we used to hear and see from Miranda Priestley side of the I think that was the issue a lot of people are saying about the sequel is that she softened a bit, but by bringing in that HR character or you know, the HR perspective, it does make sense, but it still provided a lot of like funny moments seeing Miranda trying to change her ways, or yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, I think there's some funny moments that come out of it, so I'm not unhappy that they included that angle in it, and I think it does also talk to the larger, you know, broader point uh that they're trying to make throughout the film is how things have changed in the media and fashion landscape, and just we live in a different world, so Miranda Priestley from 2006 might not fit in the same in today's climate. I remember that that scene where she was hanging her own coat as well, and and struggling with it, or you know, acting like she couldn't handle that simple of a task. Yeah, I think there were some funny moments that you got out of her not sort of having that same level of attention and assistance that she previously had.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Yeah. I mean, I did enjoy the movie a lot. I walked away from the theater like really very content and very happy with the sequel. But the longer I sat with it, I hate saying Bubby because I really enjoyed it. But at the same time, like it just references the the first movie a lot, and almost everything, like 70% of the scenes in this, you know, in the sequel references a scene from the first movie. So I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Even because it just dawned on me that Andy's friend that she gives the purse to at the end. I guess that's a spoiler, but she kind of gives that Valentino bag to her friend at the end, who's the same friend from the first, that was so excited when she first got into her career, obviously at Runway, and was getting all of these like sample bags and stuff. And she was so excited to give her friend this bag in the first movie, and you know, it was like a fun nod to that at the in the second one.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

And speaking of that friend, I found her kind of annoying on the uh from the first movie, only because like I remember her getting so frustrated about Andy taking her job so seriously. I feel like that narrative was the sequel, it's an improvement specifically on narrative around Nate and like you know, like how Andy was choosing her career over Nate before, but now it's like okay, it's more understood that she could work hard and enjoy her career without feeling too bad about not giving her man enough attention or yeah, which I think it improves some of the relationships.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

And obviously, I mentioned, like, you know, we get some fun moments with her kind of rekindled friendship with Emily, and then obviously her bantering and interactions with Miranda. I I can't recall. I think that was the only friend from that core group of hers from the first film that continued on into this new one, which was nice to see. But I think then you get the other side of the coin with her new romantic relationship, and you know, they sort of have this moment of bickering just before Andy is going to Italy for I think a week or two. So it's this kind of trip abroad, and they just kind of leave on a sour note. But really, that whole interaction that went south is almost entirely Andy's fault, basically. So, you know, in in a lot of ways where it seems like she's matured and better able to handle her career and other relationships, you're still kind of getting that sense of she's not always on her game when it comes to her career or understanding like nuance or different situations. And you see that play out later in the film when you learn that Emily and her new I think were they engaged? Fiance, boyfriend, but her new multimillionaire or billionaire romantic partner is going to now acquire the holding company that owns Runway and thus putting Emily at the helm of Runway. And Andy at first is kind of going along with that plan because she thinks it's going to save Miranda by them being able to find this new buyer and keep Miranda as again the lead at Runway. And then she learns that she was kind of duped by Emily and her boyfriend, Benji, who I think is played by Justin Thoreau. And we can come back to them, but yeah, that sort of naive, you know that she still has blundering, sort of, yeah, yeah. She still struggles with that.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Yeah, I feel like there's so many things happening already. There's already too many plot points. It's already a busy movie that they didn't need to have a romantic partner for Anne Hathaway. And I feel like it wasn't needed at all. It didn't really add anything to the movie.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Yeah, I really think the only thing that maybe you could sort of view it as adding is obviously in the first film there's pretty clear, like problematic elements on both parts of that initial relationship. Whereas in this one, it's kind of evident that it was all just on Andy being too sensitive around different topics, and you know, really her new boyfriend is pretty unproblematic as far as how they present him. So maybe that's the one angle that you kind of view it as is her continued sort of struggle with these relationships and figuring it out. But yeah, beyond that, it doesn't really add much. And you know, the other just general thing is sequels in really popular movies that don't really call for them and require them. You know, I think that's kind of the framework or lens to view this through is how many people ask for this or how many people are wanting it. And I'm sure the movie's gonna do pretty well and we'll you know get butts in seats, but you know, it's an enjoyable watch. I don't think you can like view this as superior to the first one by any stretch of the imagination.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

I mean, if you're a fan of the first one, you will love this movie only because you're invested in these characters. It was great seeing these characters mature and their relationships grow, it's nostalgic. So that's why it's it's entertaining, it's fun to watch. But yeah, if if if you just casually watch the first movie and have no attachment to it, I don't think you would enjoy this movie as much.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

I also think if you didn't watch the first around the time that it came out, and you don't have that nostalgia factor, so maybe you only just recently watched the first Devil Wars Prada, yeah, just in anticipation of this new one, you also might not enjoy it as much because you don't have that sort of nostalgic factor. Yeah. For me, there was like different points where you know they're at one point they the characters travel to Italy and they're kind of panning through the streets of Milan and just showing different settings there. And there were moments there and just other scenes where I would catch myself thinking, is this a double wearda movie? Like, does this feel like that? Do the characters feel like they did from the first one? And then there would be moments where you know the music from the first film comes in and it's playing over. And obviously, again, they're kind of riffing off of some of the same dynamics that the characters had, and it did play into that nostalgic factor, and you're like, oh, it is nice to see these characters again on a screen, you know, 20 years on. So I think it did a good job of evolving into a new path forward.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

For me, I love Meryl Streep, and it was nice seeing her back on screen. Her role in the first one got her an Oscar nomination, deservedly so. But she kind of played Miranda in a in a different way from like how villains are typically played. But yeah, like we were saying earlier, we have an attachment to that, and that's why we enjoy this movie.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Yeah, I I think the other thing that this movie adds to, and really will, you know, fans of the first one will just really appreciate is how it handles Nigel's sort of story arc and relationships with really all the main characters, but especially with Andy and Miranda. Because you kind of see this evolution of how Miranda now views Nigel as more of more than just a protege and someone who is actually capable of leading. And then you also get a really sweet moment between Nigel and Andy towards the end, which I won't spoil too much, but it was just really nice to see because you're hearing something sort of expressed in a you know, really sweet moment. So I also think you get glimpses in the first movie of Miranda's sort of like inner workings, but I think this movie actually expands on that quite a bit in terms of her appreciation of like art and humanity and yeah, just sort of creativity in general. Yeah, and it expands on that in ways that you didn't get from the first movie.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Overall, I also like seeing these women just be in charge of their careers and not focusing much on their significant others that were pretty needy, you know, from the first movie, like Nate for Anne Hathaway, and also Miranda's ex-husband. Yeah, Miranda's ex-husband, who ended up divorcing her because she was just this workaholic during that time. Also, just goes back to like that scene between Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep inside that limo that is a callback to like the original movie where they also had that conversation and and where Meryl Streep was like, everybody wants to be us. And at that time, Anne Hathaway was like, but no, that's this is not me. Like, you know, like I don't want to be like you. But I'm glad that they had this type of conversation again, and now they're more in sync.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

What did you think of sort of the cameos, or some of them were even bigger roles like Lucy Lu, but yeah, I'm curious what your thoughts on with some of the cameos like Donatello Versace and some of the content creators that we had at one of the parties. We had a cameo from, of course, Lady Gaga. Do you feel like it was distracting? Did it add in the movie?

SPEAKER_00 15:01

I don't think it added anything to the movie. I actually thought they were all distracting. Uh do you feel the same way?

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Just I it's interesting because I think with the first one, you had very few of them, and I guess maybe it was just at the time it was like a new IP and story that was coming out. So again, the sort of conversation around it wasn't, you know, as hyped. So I think you just had fewer, like less presence of like actual models and people in fashion. And then so then by the time this comes around 20 years later, it's like many more people trying to get involved and associated with it. But I kind of agree it it was as many arguments as you could have for it, like being representative of those industries or those events or things like that. It's it was a bit distracting. I I enjoyed, like, for example, Lady Gaga's performance playing music was one thing, but then there was this sort of mini moment of a sort of spat between her and Miranda, and it was kind of funny, but it was also a little bit awkward.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah. I felt like it was just like added in, like last minute almost.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Like with it felt like a director's cut sort of thing that maybe for the theatrical release didn't need to be in there, but yeah, like let's give Dada a couple more lines, and yeah, I don't think Lady Gaga can be funny. I don't feel like she got to be like you know, it felt like a very one-dimensional, quick little throwaway. It felt very force, yeah. Yeah, I think another, I guess beyond the cameos, probably one of my favorite arcs or just character sort of development was Emily, so Emily Blunt. Yeah. She had a lot of the funniest moments and delivery throughout the movie. I just found myself laughing at just different things she would say or do. And then you kind of just get that general competitiveness that she's kind of always striving for something big and better.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Which explains why she was trying to do what she was doing because that competitive edge and how she was driven out of runway.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

And if it alludes to her latest career endeavor, which is a funny moment to spoil it here, but yeah, there were just moments where I was cracking up like audibly, like really like loud in the theater.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

And I I was definitely enjoying the movie as I was watching it. Then again, I'm a fan, so I also like the same thing with the first one, seeing like New York City. I feel like New York City in films is always just like a second character, and it's always nice to see New York City through that lens of the fashion industry.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah, and on a big screen, it's like just always cool to see these like skyscrapers and the buildings lit up at night. And yeah, it just feels like all the hustle and bustle, you're part of it, and they're running around doing who knows what for a fashion magazine, but it feels very like important and yeah, like big.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

It also makes you feel like I feel like I'm not doing enough here in Texas. Like, what are we doing here? Why are we not in New York?

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Thanks for listening and strut your stuff on over to thesinifile mind.com and the Cinefile Mind on every social media channel that you can find. Catch the four of you on YouTube and like, comment, subscribe, share with your friends. Catch you on the next one.