Given that the current film industry cannot resist a legacy sequel, it is surprising that it took a follow-up to one of the most culturally impactful films of the 2000s two decades to materialise. Still, The Devil Wears Prada 2 was never a guarentee - between the star’s burgeoning careers, Meryl Streep’s known aversion to sequels and perhaps some resistance to greenlit a female-skewing title with no assurance of a returning audience, that it’s materialised at all is a wonder. But how does the twenty year delay affect Prada 2: is this a runway-ready continuation, or should the elevator doors have long shut on Priestley and co?
In a shifting industry constantly under threat of becoming obsolete, Miranda Priestley finds herself fighting to maintain her grasp on Runway magazine, with an emerging scandal threatening to engulf it completely — the person they call in to assist is no other than PR guru and ex-Runway employee Andy Sachs. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci all return to the roles that took each of their careers to a new level, this time joined by Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh and Lucy Liu.
Rather than turn The Devil Wears Prada 2 into a reshaped greatest hits collection, the filmmakers understand that the best way to satiate audiences is by nodding to the past without forcing them to relive it note-for-note. Director David Frankel returns to helm the follow-up, which has done the sensible thing that not all sequels do: patiently waited for the most opportune moment to reintroduce itself. Our world has shifted so significantly toward the digital that it almost feels that the original Devil was the final hurrah for the celebration of analog. Now, with news being stale by the time the print pressers have heated up, Runway - much like the print industry on the whole - is fending off a digital reaper that threatens obsoletion.
Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKennna does well to immediately establish that twenty years have indeed passed — it truly feels like these characters have lived tangible lives in the interim, existing outside of our limited time spent with them, and developing within such a shifting industry as this. The uncomfortable reckoning to maintain legacy of Runway magazine and what it has come to represent versus the push for 'social engagement' in an influencer-heavy, branded content world is a wise avenue the script contends with, contextualising the uncomfortable shift and what it comes to mean for people on both sides of the print media war. While these weightier existential are never far from the screenplay’s mind, demonstrating a film with something meaningful to say, it still juggles the lighter moments of fashion shows and in-fighting effectively, remembering to remain fun and entertaining on the whole.
Speaking of digital, it is a shame the film itself looked so shiny and polished; every scene is overlit and unsaturated, giving it a plastic look which is an unfortunate trend within Hollywood at the moment. The soundtrack is a missed opportunity, particularly given how significant the first film's soundtrack was with its Madonna-sized hits, and the plethora of pop artists who would have made an astonishing contributions this time around, but strong original tracks from Lady Gaga are a highlight overall.
Meryl Streep’s return to Miranda Priestley’s shoes is the most anticipated element of the sequel and she does so with largely impressive results. There’s no doubt Miranda’s sharp tongue has been dulled somewhat with time, and there is a sense that she is the character the writers have lost the most grasp over in the intervening years, making decisions that would seemingly contradict the Miranda we have come to know (and, in some cases, idolise!) - but every decision Streep herself makes brings a complexity to the character and works to justify the shift in personality. Sure, you can’t help but yearn for a few more scathing remarks, but this is a Miranda far from her most powerful, and so Streep has tempered her performance to reflect that.
Anne Hathaway’s role has always been the hardest, and the same is true with the sequel - sure, she’s clearly having fun, but having to drive the dramatic weight of the narrative in such an intrinsically fun movie takes a skilled pair of hands to still remain engaging, and Hathaway’s talents have done been enriched in the time between instalments. Even the snooze of the romance sub-plot is tolerable with Hathaway delivering robust work as ever. Despite having the smallest runtime of the main returning players, Emily Blunt is the film’s clear MVP, with a comedically sharp and incisive return for Emily. While she does feel somewhat underutilised, with the writers going to great lengths to ensure her storyline does not rule her out of future appearances, she is a breath of fresh air every time she makes an appearance, a rollickingly entertaining presence that film comes to realise is its calling card.
As legacy sequels go, The Devil Wears Prada 2 achieves a rarely-mastered balance of nostalgia and quality, nodding to its original with reverence while foreging a new path and angle that actually evolves these characters, their relationship and the industry itself. While not as comedically sharp or refreshingly subversive, there is a thematic weight to the screenplay's conversations and a timely resonance imbued throughout that make this a worthwhile venture. It’s unlikely The Devil Wears Prada 2 will come anywhere near capturing the zeitgeist like its predecessor, but in a cinematic landscape laden with franchise revival missteps, watching Devil 2 strut with confidence and sophistication is enough to earn its front page spread.