The Devil Wears Prada 2
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2006 Marley & Me and Collateral Beauty director David Frankel took audiences into the cutthroat world of fashion with The Devil Wears Prada starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. Now after 20 years the gang is getting back together for the highly anticipated sequel aptly titled The Devil Wears Prada 2. Could this next chapter in the world of fashion manage to make it across the runway or will it fail to find its style?
The film reunites the original main cast with director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna, and introduces an all-new runway of characters including Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, Pauline Chalamet, B.J. Novak, and Conrad Ricamora along with Tracie Thoms and Tibor Feldman also reprise their roles as “Lily” and “Irv” from the first film.
While I enjoyed the first film, I was not a big fan of it. I felt there were no likable characters or redemption to anyone by the time it was over. Revisiting it didn’t change my opinion much, but maybe new eyes allowed me to enjoy it a bit more. I didn’t really see a need for a sequel but was still interested to see where they were taking these characters and how or if it would manage to work. To my surprise I liked this one more than the first one, but it does still walk the same line to keep it in line with the first film for fans.
The story works to get the gang back together and the direction they take everyone allows them to show real evolution in what they have been doing and where they are now. There are elements in its set up that kind of play into the convenience cliché, but as it plays out, they make some reveals that make it work all the better and step out of that generic idea. The cast dive right back into the roles like they never left but lets them all feel different due to their status and place now.
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Hathaway once again essentially leads the charge this time with the more confidence of her growth from the person she was in the original. There are elements of being back into this insane world that does pull her back into that familiar territory to remind you of her inner struggles with her choices and dealing with it all. Streep puts the sunglasses back on and continues to bring this powerful diva to life the exact way fans expect, but there is more depth to her this time around without ever forcing her into a place that just isn’t her.
The two scene stealers of the original film in Tucci and Blunt continue the same here. Every scene they are in is instantly elevated and necessary for this film to work. You may question why either of them is still around after the events of the first film but are addressed in a good way that pushes the narrative forward and actually allows everyone here to finally get a completion to their arcs that were essentially just left dangling at the end of the first film.
There are plenty of twists and turns with some you will easily see coming and others you may not. It works for this world and makes an unnecessary sequel not only worth it but strengthens the first film despite not stepping too far out of the same tropes. It’s not the kind of film I would revisit just because it’s not my thing, but one that I think fans of the original film will no doubt love.
Decide for yourself and check out The Devil Wears Prada 2 in theaters now from 20th Century Studios.
