Anyone else seen The Devil Wears Prada? [Archive]

Kay Henderson

07-23-2006, 08:30 AM

When I'm down in Sacramento by myself, I enjoy going out to see a movie in the evenings. Friday night I saw The Devil Wears Prada. I thought it was delightful. A young, idealistic recent college graduate (Anne Hathaway), who wants to be a journalist, gets a job as second assistant to the boss from Hades, the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine (Meryl Streep). The story contains interesting reflections on a person getting sucked into a worldview and lifestyle she originally disapproved of. However, what I most enjoyed was Meryl Streep's performance, which was incredibly spot on. That woman can inhabit a character better than any actor/actress I can think of.

What did you think?

Kay

For reviews see Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_devil_wears_prada/)

birdyone

07-23-2006, 08:41 AM

I loved it! Absolutely superb! Certainly one of the best movies I've seen in quite a while.
Elaine

DeeK

07-23-2006, 09:18 AM

I really enjoyed the movie also for a few reasons. I thought Meryl Streep did a wonderful job. I have loved her in almost every movie she was in.

It was also our Monday Lunch Bunch Field Trip. I have a bunch a women I lunch with every Monday and we decided to see it together. It is such a joy to just be able to let your mind clear of the day's busyness (and business) and laugh out loud.

I also thought the filming in Paris was beautiful!!!

I VERY rarely go to the movies, but this time I felt it was money well-spent.

oceanjasper

07-23-2006, 10:17 AM

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! Loved both Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway's characters. Especially loved watching Anne's "fashion" transformation and the encounter between the two characters in the very last scene. My Mom, on the other hand, found it a bit slow. I thought maybe I just didn't get out enough and that is why I enjoyed it so much, but it looks like I am in good company here. :)

avariell

07-23-2006, 11:35 AM

i listened to the book on cd when it first came out a few years ago. i was so turned off by the book that i can't bring myself to watch the movie! :( i get the feeling from the previews that the book might have been better suited for a movie, but the book was so awful i can't give them anymore of my money! :mad:

lindaofthelakes

07-23-2006, 12:24 PM

I saw it with my sister, niece and DH and all thoroughly enjoyed it. i LOVE anything with Meryl Streep. We had just seen "the Prairie Home Companion " with her the previous week and that was fun too (She really seemed to be having a blast with both completely different characters.)

HejazSunKat

07-23-2006, 01:46 PM

I took a friend for her birthday and we both loved it. Meryl Streep was of course outstanding. She looked beautiful with the silver fox hair and she must have loved playing that character - wearing all the gorgeous clothes and being witheringly mean to everybody! :D I enjoyed the monologue she delivered to Anne Hathaway's character regarding how she thought fashion was beneath her yet the 'lumpy blue sweater' (or whatever it was) that she was wearing was the result of a designer's inspiration from several seasons ago. Some of us might like to think we aren't cutting edge trendy people, that it's too tedious to be bothered with but little do we know we're all fashion's victims. It was very entertaining and isn't Anne Hathaway just beautiful? What gorgeous, enormous eyes. I also had a hard time not thinking of her boyfriend (Adrien Grenier) as his character, Vince Chase, from Entourage and the blond guy she hooked up with in Paris just popped up in a movie I saw last night: "Something New" (which was also good). I was sitting there racking my brains wondering where I'd just seen this guy!

Kay Henderson

07-23-2006, 05:56 PM

Avariell's comment about her distaste for the book makes me wonder. Is there anyone who has read the book AND seen the movie? Was one superior to the other? Why?

Kay

memartha

07-23-2006, 05:58 PM

I read the book last fall and saw the movie last week. I enjoyed both.

zackaboo

07-23-2006, 06:08 PM

I haven't read the book but I really enjoyed the movie. It showcases a way of life that I know nothing about and I found it fascinating to see this depiction of the fashion industry.

Did anyone else think twice about your own appearance while you were watching the movie? I think I was having a bad hair day and I felt way underdressed while watching the beautiful Anne Hathaway and super-classy Meryl Streep in their high class fashions. :o It was the first time that I have ever had that reaction to a movie!

newtricks

07-24-2006, 07:26 AM

Avariell's comment about her distaste for the book makes me wonder. Is there anyone who has read the book AND seen the movie? Was one superior to the other? Why?

Kay

I enjoyed the movie more than the book. The book was SO obsessed with labels and what was fashionable at that very moment that it was sort of offputting. And, Zackaboo, the book makes you much more self-conscious than the movie because it shows that there are people who judge you on *everything*, things you wouldn't even notice! In the movie they make Anne Hathaway look frumpy but in the book she sounds reasonably well-dressed - just not up to Conde Nast standards.

The book and the movie are brain candy. I would rather spend 2 hours on it than the time it took to read the whole book so I preferred the movie.

greysangel

07-24-2006, 08:05 AM

I agree with Barbara..I enjoyed the movie more. The book is good, but it was actually so fashionista that the label dropping etc distracted IMO from the storyline. There are similar chick lit books I think that were better than Devil because the fashion part of it was a sort of back drop to the story...like the Shopaholic series or Bitter is the new black etc.

CompassRose

07-24-2006, 09:05 AM

I just read the book (it was in a sale bin at the grocery store) and thought, "well, that's an hour and a half of my life I'll never get back." :rolleyes:

I found it profoundly annoying. I WAS going to see the movie, but now that I've read the book, I'm thinking I'll wait for the DVD.

Everything. Everything about it annoyed me. Miranda Priestly's character... the stupid, vapid superficiality of all the Runway people... AND the lead character, whatever the heck her name is. Granted, Priestly is a complete a-hole, but whatsername's silly, petty vengeances -- dirty plates, wiping her hands on the dry cleaning -- are not only unpleasant, but in the book, aren't really backed up -- we don't even have time to MEET Priestly before we're already hearing about whatsername being awful.

tippy7

07-24-2006, 10:01 AM

I read the book and saw the movie, and while I did like both, it annoyed me that the movie was so different from the book! Sure, the basic storyline is the same, but a lot of changes annoyed me. I don't want to go into detail and ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet. I guess I shouldn't have read the book right before seeing the movie!

jtoepfert100

07-24-2006, 10:02 AM

schuh

07-24-2006, 10:34 AM

I'm with those who disliked the book. Maybe it's because it was the "must read" book the summer it came out, and my expectations were too high. I found the main character to be a whiny, unlikeable door mat. Many entry-level jobs, especially in highly competitive fields, are a grind. Because I'm not a fashionista, I found the endless designer name dropping to be more mind numbing than enthralling.

BUT ... since Meryl Streep's performances have received such rave reviews, and since the movie is different from the book, I'm looking forward to going to see it on Wednesday!

newtricks

07-24-2006, 10:43 AM

Everything. Everything about it annoyed me. Miranda Priestly's character... the stupid, vapid superficiality of all the Runway people... AND the lead character, whatever the heck her name is. Granted, Priestly is a complete a-hole, but whatsername's silly, petty vengeances -- dirty plates, wiping her hands on the dry cleaning -- are not only unpleasant, but in the book, aren't really backed up -- we don't even have time to MEET Priestly before we're already hearing about whatsername being awful.

They actually change a lot of that around so there's more compassion and character development among the characters - and no dirty plates. At the risk of sounding mean, I think that the stupid, vapid superficiality of the Runway people is pretty much lifted straight from the Conde Nast offices.

CompassRose

07-24-2006, 10:44 AM

Some girlfriends and I went and saw this when it first came out and had similar reactions. We all felt terribly underdressed and hopelessly out of style. :o
That was just another thing that ticked me off about the book. Isn't there anyone at this "fashion" magazine who actually has a style? (As opposed to wearing what fashion dictates is IN style.) Other than the larger-than-life gay stylist, who tells everyone else what to wear and ignores fashion's dicta himself.

I mean, even if I got hired at some high-powered fashion magazine (which is unlikely) and even if this had happened in my twenties, I might upgrade the quality of my clothes, but I'd still wear what I liked, and #### the stiletto heels. I wear what *I* wear, and I don't wear stiletto heels!

Anyhow. There did not seem to be one genuine individual as far as style went -- not even Miranda Priestly and her bloody white scarf, which to me smacked far more of affectation than signature. Boring, boring, boring people.

jtoepfert100

07-24-2006, 11:03 AM

That was just another thing that ticked me off about the book. Isn't there anyone at this "fashion" magazine who actually has a style? (As opposed to wearing what fashion dictates is IN style.) Other than the larger-than-life gay stylist, who tells everyone else what to wear and ignores fashion's dicta himself.

I mean, even if I got hired at some high-powered fashion magazine (which is unlikely) and even if this had happened in my twenties, I might upgrade the quality of my clothes, but I'd still wear what I liked, and #### the stiletto heels. I wear what *I* wear, and I don't wear stiletto heels!

Anyhow. There did not seem to be one genuine individual as far as style went -- not even Miranda Priestly and her bloody white scarf, which to me smacked far more of affectation than signature. Boring, boring, boring people.

I didn't read the book, nor did I have any desire (I tend to stay away from "chick lit"). From what you describe the movie may be a lot different. I took it as pure entertainment fluff. I agree with whoever posted above that I think this "story" is much better suited for the big screen but I'm not really sure why.

CompassRose

07-24-2006, 11:07 AM

I didn't read the book, nor did I have any desire (I tend to stay away from "chick lit").
hee hee.... as should I, but sometimes I can't resist... chick lit is the potato chip of reading. But look at me, here I am analysing a potato chip (and a Frito Lay at that, not some kettle-cooked gourmet snack) as though it were dinner at El Bulli.

I think the book is meant to be pure fluff too. I just found it obnoxious fluff, with everything I griped about above plus the feeble moral good girl ending too.

jtoepfert100

07-24-2006, 12:07 PM

hee hee.... as should I, but sometimes I can't resist... chick lit is the potato chip of reading. But look at me, here I am analysing a potato chip (and a Frito Lay at that, not some kettle-cooked gourmet snack) as though it were dinner at El Bulli.

I think the book is meant to be pure fluff too. I just found it obnoxious fluff, with everything I griped about above plus the feeble moral good girl ending too.

CR - I love your posts! :D I did the same thing last chick lit I read - I think it might have been "The Undomesticated Goddess" or some such thing. Believe it or not, it was selected for my book club. I showed up annoyed, wanting to go on and on about the improbabilities and neat, little happy ending and all everyone else wanted to discuss was the hunky gardner character. :p