The Reel Review
Twenty years after she left, newly laid-off print journalist Andy Sachs returns to Runway magazine, just as Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly faces a major threat to her fashion magazine’s future. Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci star in this sequel to the iconic 2006 comedy.
Again helmed by The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel, this charming sequel is like a welcomed reunion with longtime friends. Much of the storyline mirrors the original and the one-liners are still a hoot despite Streep’s Priestly showing a little more humility in our currently, more socially-aware era. Incidentally, it is Blunt’s Emily, as the advertising director at Christian Dior, who is creating new challenges for Miranda. The film’s grim nod to the end of traditional print journalism is timely.
This breezy and glitzy cameo-laden sequel leans way more heavily into showcasing fabulous fashions as well as a nice musical bop from Lady Gaga and Doechii. Lucy Liu is also a nice addition as the super wealthy philanthropist/ex-wife of a tech billionaire. Some of the cameos are a bit cringey and the inclusions of Kenneth Branagh and Patrick Brammall as Miranda and Andy’s respective love interests are distracting throwaways, but all in all, this sequel is almost as entertaining as the original and has a really sweet, crowd-pleaser of an ending.
REEL FACTS
• The sequel took 20 years to make due to Meryl Streep’s strong aversion to doing sequels. Streep, whose only other sequel is 2018’s Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, personally called Lady Gaga and asked her to appear in the film.
• The Devil Wears Prada 2 director David Frankel won an Oscar in 1997 for his live action short, Dear Diary.
• The Devil Wears Prada 2 has grossed more than $446 million at the box office worldwide. The original 2006 film grossed $326 million worldwide.
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