Sharp. Biting. Insightful. These are the words we think of when we reference 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada. So does The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited reunion between stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci follow in the high-end stilettoed footsteps of its well-regarded predecessor? Let’s just say, this time around, the sequel had me pursing my lips.
It’s truly a shame to say this, but if I were to compare The Devil Wears Prada 2 to any film sequel with the same amount of promise and a similarly disappointing execution, it would be Ocean’s Twelve. Instead of biting wit and cleverness, the movie overcompensates with grand destinations and cameos galore, thinking sheer star power will save it from the cliches of a watered-down script that betrays what made the original’s characters special (apart from one – which I’ll get to later). At least the cast seems to be enjoying themselves.
Set appropriately 20 years after the original, Andie (Hathaway) has lost her job at Vanguard, a publication of journalistic repute, and finds herself thrust into a new editorial role at Runway – the publication that was once the bane of her existence (or the birthing ground for a more powerful and confident version of herself, depending on who you ask). She reunites with Miranda Priestly (Streep) and Nigel (Tucci) during a tumultuous time for Runway, and is immediately asked to settle a controversy, and help the publication rebuild its reputation.
There is so much potential with the setup for the story, and what the movie thematically has to say about the current state of journalism. We know journalism is in jeopardy: people questioning the news in favor of hearsay posts from politicians who refuse to hear anything negative about themselves, paid influencers and their reactions on TikTok are favored over critical essays from folks with reputable backgrounds. The list goes on. The movie could touch upon any of these challenges to print media or news in general, but doesn’t. That makes it all the more disappointing that the movie decides to forego the deeper exploration of these themes in favor of more of a crowd pleaser that really waters down everything that made the original bold, from the characters to the dialogue.
These challenges to Runway, in reality, would exist no matter what these characters did, but because things need to end in a joyous way for our characters, the script and narrative wave the magic wand, and the status quo is restored. There was a sense of wit and, in many ways, a realistic relatability to the original, which presented a deeply sympathetic account of the challenges of hustling day to day to get your start in the world. This certainly was something that persisted for working professionals to this day. And yet, both the same wit and sense of realism are now absent from Prada 2, completely, which makes it a much less interesting movie when it should have been more so.
The biggest and most egregious sin the movie commits, however, is the complete watering down of Streep’s iconic character Miranda Priestly. The first film treated us to an incredible, Oscar-nominated performance from the legendary actress. We were introduced to an incredibly complex character that we both feared and admired. It was easy to hate Miranda, but almost easier to be drawn to her, as protagonist Andie was, because she was cunning and ruthless, having to work harder, smarter, and colder to get to where she is. She was a force of chaotic and, admittedly, problematic nature, while also being a bit of a symbol for female empowerment in a phallocentric time.
Cut to 2026, where most of the movie finds Miranda completely cowering beneath the boot of her own male bosses. We see her being unsure what to do, we see her buckling under their beck and call without a plan or strategy. And while it’s refreshing to see the Prada pump on the other foot this time around, it in many ways undercuts everything we loved or loved to hate about the character. In other words, the script makes Miranda so much less complex and empowered. For instance, we are given a scene where Miranda seemingly, finally gives Nigel his flowers, presenting her as oblivious about the dreams and goals of Tucci’s character. That’s sweet and all, but it completely betrays that sense of ruthlessness we’ve come to know about the character from the conclusion of the 2006 film. Having Miranda knowingly take the carrot away from Nigel and give it to Jacqueline Follet to save her job explicitly proves she’s willing to do whatever it takes to remain in power as long as she wants, because she firmly believes Runway needs her. Making her a soft, clueless teddy bear who feels any sort of remorse or consideration for Nigel undercuts all of this, and betrays what we know of the character, in some ways making her apologize for the things she did to get to where she is. That is *not* Miranda Priestly, and should never be Miranda Priestly.
As far as Hathaway’s Andie goes, while not neutered the way Miranda is, Andie most definitely feels like her character growth from the first film has all but completely dissipated. While she does come across more confident, and a bit more firm (particularly at the end) watching her cower once more when she initially reunites with Miranda felt like a silly beat for someone who went viral for being as outspoken and respected as she should be. The movie then doubles down on this by having her make several stupid mistakes throughout the course of the movie, such as solutioning a problem that’s way over her head without even consulting Nigel. A huge source of conflict happens as a result of her actions simply because the narrative calls for it. However, if the movie wants us to believe the character is as intelligent as she’s supposed to be, then the script completely asking us to buy into that notion is completely paradoxical.
The one saving grace for Prada 2, however, is unsurprisingly the MVP from the previous film: Emily (Blunt). If there’s a single shred of bite in this sequel, it is through Blunt’s terrific performance, and the development surrounding her character. She is the primary source of the film’s humor, with incredibly catty line deliveries and timing, and the script essentially giving her all of the best dialogue. More than that, however, the film does make the character of Emily the most consistent and sympathetic of the returning crew. Unfortunately, her screentime is perplexingly more limited than it should be! I saw the Emily character as the driving force of the sequel, and the most evident consequence of the effect of Miranda Priestly’s toxic reign. What we know she had to go through from the finale of the original film to the start of this one, would have been so incredibly interesting to explore. However, save for a single tell-not-show scene, that’s way too little and far too late, the movie chooses to focus on much less interesting moments, completely underutilizing the impact that focusing on Emily’s story instead would have had to the story.
And wasted opportunity is a pattern that Prada 2 continuously repeats; especially with its stars. Terrific actors like Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, Simone Ashley, and Kenneth Branagh are all in the movie. However, apart from a few forced plot points involving Liu and Theroux, if you were to ask what hiring such A-list talent brought to the picture, the answer would be a resounding “nothing.” Ashley has a few noteworthy lines here and there. And there are some uncharacteristically tender moments between Streep and Branagh. However, removing them from the movie altogether would frankly have zero impact to the story. At least Tucci can hold his head high, infusing a sense of tenderness to the movie as well.
All this said, I simply cannot review this movie on a site called “The Nerds of Color” without addressing the “Jin Chao” issue. Played by multi-talented Broadway star Helen J. Shen, many took issue with the stereotypical appearance of her mousy, over-enthusiastic assistant character. And with good cause. While the character might be less problematic in the film than she appears in the trailers, there’s still a bit of a problematic ignorance in the development of this character, from the way she dresses to the amount of energy she has. It’s mocking in a way that simply exists as a character to make Andie, a White protagonist, seem less mousy and more competent because she’s next to an even mousier Asian subordinate. It speaks volumes that she’s the most prominently featured Asian character in a film that includes much more empowered Asian characters played by Ashley and Liu.
On a technical standpoint, the film looks fine. However, as this is a film rooted in fashion, it’s in some ways also a disappointing downgrade from its predecessor, or even movies like Cruella. This is likely because the Oscar nominated costume designer from the first film, 84-year-old Patricia Field, did not return for the second film, handing the reins instead to colleague Molly Rogers. The change is noticeable, with Rogers’ work feeling far less iconic and much more of a low-level retread than anything. Some pieces look nice, but admittedly nothing truly stands out as memorable.
The soundtrack, however, is one of the areas in which the movie outdoes its predecessor. Gone are the poppy sounds of jukebox top-40 adult contemporary of the 00s. Instead the film’s made some rather large investments in returning music supervisor Julia Michaels, but also in Lady Gaga. Gaga contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including a single with Doechii called “Runway.” And boy was it worth it, as the fashion anthem is a true banger, and serves to accompany one of the film’s few memorable moments.
Overall, while many longtime fans of The Devil Wears Prada may find enough to enjoy in Prada 2, it’s hard to imagine anyone placing it on par with the original. That’s what makes it so disappointing: with the same director, screenwriter, and an Oscar-caliber cast returning, this film could—and should—have been much better. Instead, it settles for a watered-down bargain-bin knockoff of its predecessor. In the film’s own words, we expected Dior, but we got Coach. That’s all.
Overall Score (on an entertainment level): C+
Overall Score (on a representation level): C
The Devil Wears Prada 2 struts into theaters this Friday, May 1st.
