The Devil Wears Prada 2

By Joanna Langfield

This gleefully anticipated reunion comes to the screen dressed (handsomely) for a funeral. While that may be unexpected, it’s not all that bad a look.

It’s been twenty years since Andy and Miranda bucked coiffed heads at Runway Magazine, a set up thinly disguised to give we mere mortals a peek at the inner workings of Vogue Magazine, under the tutelage of the all powerful Anna Wintour. The first film was gossipy, bright and fun. Now, reflecting the not so fun times we’re living in, the gloss of the glossy is wearing at its once carefully crafted seams. Magazines are barely printed, opting to “evolve” into online publications, which are faster, slicker and, most importantly, cheaper to produce. Miranda, a woman of a certain age, may not be made for these times. So, when Andy, newly laid off from her newspaper reporting job, returns, the wary war of the generations kicks in, stiletto style.

Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna revives the characters she created in a familiar story arc. Will the magazine survive? Will the ambitious devils at play learn how to join forces? Will we get to spend some quality time at a couture fashion show? She, along with director David Frankel, deliver it all with quick pacing and a loving look at New York. But they never let us forget the importance and perilous state of journalism, even if its focus is on art.

I can never get enough of Emily Blunt or Stanley Tucci, who gets the sweetest bits here. Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Liu and Justin Theroux make the most of their fleeting moments. But the comely cogs in this wheel are the lovely Anne Hathaway and the divine Meryl Streep, who gloriously reminds us even older women have something important to offer now, too.