'The Devil Wears Prada 2’ reunites cast but lacks original bite

The big question on the minds of fans of the original film, released 20 years ago and today a cult classic, is how the sequel measures up.

If you know that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is being released this Thursday in theaters in Israel (and around the world on Friday) because it’s just before the annual Met Gala, the biggest haute couture event of the year which is held on the first Monday in May, then you are the target audience for this movie and you will watch it no matter what the reviews say.

But the big question on the minds of fans of the original film, released 20 years ago and today a cult classic, is how the sequel measures up. The bottom line is: If you loved the first film, you’ll like this one.

As a huge fan of The Devil Wears Prada , I was happy to be reunited with the cast and characters, and I enjoyed much of the film, though at times I was disappointed that the sequel softened some of the wit and hard truths that gave the first movie its edge.

Sequels are usually made from superhero movie franchises, rarely from character-driven workplace dramedies like Prada, which was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger.

The book was buzzed about when it was still in galleys because everyone in publishing knew that Weisberger had written a roman à clef about her time as an assistant to the legendary Vogue editor, Anna Wintour, who revamped the magazine with her fresh approach to fashion, but was also notorious for being imperious and demanding, as well as for wearing her trademark sunglasses indoors.

In an early scene from the first film, Miranda Priestly ( Meryl Streep ), the thinly veiled version of Wintour who edits a magazine called “Runway,” says, “Get me 10 or 15 skirts from Calvin Klein,” to Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), her new assistant, who aspires to be a serious journalist and has no interest in fashion. When Andy asks what kind of skirts, Miranda says, “Please bore someone else with your questions.”

Original 'Devil Wears Prada' had two secret weapons

We can all relate to a boss-from-hell story, but there have been so many. What made the original Prada movie so enjoyable was its two secret weapons. The first was Streep as Miranda.

Streep is known for her dramatic roles, but she also has wonderful comic timing and a stronger presence than just about any other actor in history. While she didn’t try to make Miranda likable, Streep made you believe in Miranda’s talent and that she was a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. It’s no surprise, then, that she was nominated for an Oscar.

The most iconic moment in the first film comes when Streep’s Miranda gives Andy a dressing-down for referring to high-fashion clothing as “stuff,” telling her: “It’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room... from a pile of ‘stuff.’”

This leads into the other element that made the first movie work so well, the fashion itself. The movie made fashion enticing, even fascinating. The great designers of the day contributed their own creations, including Valentino, Chanel, and many others, and the movie was a paean to beauty and style.

When Nigel (Stanley Tucci), Miranda’s much-put-upon right-hand man, gave Andy her makeover and she traded her college-kid frumpy jackets for designer duds, audiences cheered.

And, in a case of life imitating art, the movie cemented Wintour’s role as an icon. In a world where editors are usually out the door the moment circulation figures dip, Wintour was the editor of Vogue for an unheard-of 37 years and only recently stepped down to become global chief content officer and artistic director at Condé Nast.

This is all by way of explaining why the sequel has inspired so much anticipation. It’s rare that casts and creators are reunited for a sequel, but in this case, director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna returned, in addition to Streep, Hathaway, Tucci, and Emily Blunt as Emily, who played Miranda’s other assistant, a devoted fashionista. All four of the original cast members get to shine again in their respective roles.

It also scores points for showing how much less powerful editors and writers have become as print has taken a back seat in the digital era.

It jumps right into these issues from the beginning as Andy, now a serious reporter who got the job at a newspaper she interviewed for at the end of the first film, walks past a Runway event, where Miranda reigns supreme in a gorgeous red gown. But all is not well at either publication.

As Andy accepts an award for her work, she and all her colleagues are fired from the newspaper via text messages. At the same time, Runway is rocked by a scandal as it turns out that a new fashion brand it promoted in its pages uses sweatshop labor.

So Andy is out of a job, and Miranda is in need of help. Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the CEO of the movie’s stand-in for the Conde Nast media empire, hires Andy to save Runway without even consulting Miranda.

The magazine has moved on with the times and is now mostly a website filled with videos and fashionista clickbait. There is still a print edition, but it doesn’t sell much, as Nigel admits ruefully to Andy.

The movie’s biggest joke is that while Miranda has loomed so large in Andy’s life and career, she doesn’t even remember her former assistant. Miranda accepts Andy back into the fold because she no longer wields the power she once had.

The plot thickens when Ravitz’s son Jay (B.J. Novak, playing a character almost identical to the one he portrayed in Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom) gets control of the company and wants to cut what is left of Runway’s budget to shreds.

Two other new characters figure prominently, a recently divorced power couple played by Justin Theroux and Lucy Liu, both of whom seem to be waiting for a really funny scene that never comes their way. With Andy by her side and Nigel picking up the slack for her as always, Miranda has to fight to keep the magazine alive, a battle that comes to a head at Fashion Week in Milan.

While much of this is fun to watch, The Devil Wears Prada 2’ s biggest misstep is that it has softened the character of Miranda more than necessary. The one-and-a-half moments in the first film when Miranda let her guard down had a real impact, but here, after some initial frostiness, she opens up to Andy, expressing doubts and vulnerability.

While some people, when they lose much of their power as Miranda has, become kinder and gentler, others become bitchier, and the scarily controlling character from the first film would most likely have taken the latter path. A warm Miranda is just not as compelling.

I had hoped that this movie might reveal a little more of Miranda’s backstory, but it doesn’t. In Weisberger’s novel, Andy learns that Miranda was one of 11 children from an Orthodox Jewish family in London’s East End, but here we never learn anything about her background.

While the first movie was so sharp about the problems of balancing career and personal life, the sequel glosses over this issue. Miranda has a new husband, played by Kenneth Branagh, criminally underused and forgettable as a Teddy-bear-like classical musician who is unwaveringly supportive.

Andy meets and falls for a real-estate developer, Peter (Patrick Brammell), who is blandly perfect. Nate (Adrian Grenier of Entourage), who played her boyfriend in the first film, is long gone.

Fortunately, though Prada 2 is still full of fashion, most prominently Dior, as Emily has left Runway to become an executive there because, as she tells Andy, that’s where there is money to be made these days, not in journalism. There are also many celebrity cameos, including former New Yorker and Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown. Lady Gaga sings at a fashion show.

At its best, the new film lets Streep, Tucci, Hathaway, and Blunt have a great time together again, and you’ll enjoy watching them. It addresses some of the sad realities of journalism today and offers insights into women working together and against each other. But it can’t match the excitement of the original, because the devil has put down her pitchfork.