10/06/06 The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada (2006), directed by David Frankel

watched w/ Leslie, Eric & Louis; theater (Blue Ridge Cinema, Raleigh, NC)

Now back to a much more vapid and less-threatening storyline. With this bomb of a movie, we get to see one of the modern day best-selling novels plastered onto a big screen full of Hollywood stars, brainless fashionistas, and porous dialogue in a script. Yes, what better than to catch a tired retread of a "fish out of water" story told by trendy "Seventeen" magazine editors and wasting the recognized talents of both Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci (Anne Hathaway is only here for eye candy and the hopes that she will show lots of skin as she does in all of her movies...unless of course she's being a Disney princess or something). Hathaway stars as (I must emphasize that her star is a bit lackluster at this point) Andrea, the burgeoning journalism grad who is looking for a good stepping stone job in the shark infested waters of NYC. That job she eventually stumbles upon is an assistant to the editor Miranda Priestley (Streep), the over-bearing and demanding diva of fake "Runway" magazine. The hi-jinks ensue, as mousey and un-hip Andrea must dress to impress (fun pun there) and schmooze her way into Miranda's heart and further her career...all with the help of trusted sidekick Nigel (Tucci). Will she do it? Will she go through so much pain and anguish to get her foot in the door? Will any of these models on the screen ever eat anything and not wither away to waifish nothingness? Who really cares? Not I said the goose. And here's an existentialist approach...would the devil ever really wear (or afford) Prada? The world may never know after this lame attempt. Thanks for ruining eternal damnation for all of us!

2 out of 5 stars