What the Flick

perfomance of Meryl Streep (and noticeably great in supporting roles, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt), or a crazy quilt combination of them all. Whatever, the movie trips along as lightly as Anna Wintour in a pair of Marc Jacobs T-strap pumps (oh, come on, Manolos were just sooo obvious), in a way that entertains and never leaves you with those dull moments that encourage introspection.

What is the story, you ask? Brainy journalism grad Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway), decked out in a wardrobe that seems to combine the worst of LL Bean, the Harvard Coop, and random mall stores, heads to NY to become the new Ida Tarbell and instead ends up as lowly assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), high 'priestess' of fashion who runs the VOGUE-like RUNWAY magazine like the petty dictator of a very thin and well-dressed country. There's the screaming, the endless demands, the tossed coats, and the looks over the glasses and down the nose as Andy scrambles to keep up. Anyone who has ever had a beastly boss can relate (my own first NYC boss comes to mind). The 'drama' revolves around Andy's struggle over whether to give in to the seduction of the scene or stay true to herself; it seems a no-brainer to me, though being true to herself included cutie Adrian Grenier (from HBO's ENTOURAGE) as a chef boyfriend. But selling out potentially included romance with more mature cutie Simon Baker (thanks to Simon's fellow Aussies at the Australian Film Institute for the screening). And in Paris. So I guess to some that's a toss up.

Will she gain Miranda's respect? Will she become a size 4? Will she return the accessories and other stuff she "borrowed" from the (in at least some worlds) renowned Accessories Closet? Or keep the shoes and go back to down-and-dirty journalism? In all honesty, as a moviegoer I cared less about what she was going to do than I did about watching the scene (and Miranda) itself. But then, I am such a star-f**ker when it comes to all that fashion, behind the scenes at 7th on Sixth stuff, that I fell for the seduction (and I'm not alone, see here in SLATE and here in the New York Times) by frame 2. It's quite obvious to me that in a previous life (and, God willing, a future one!) I was 6 feet tall and worked for Dior. (And I'm sure that'll be news to those of you who've seen my take on 'style.' Ha!)

But enough about me. What about the clothes? There are those real fashionistas who say that Patricia Fields' costume choices are unrealistic. I think she gets that fashion needs exaggeration on screen, though a few outfits were a bit reminiscent of the bizzare fashion choices of Carrie on SEX AND THE CITY (also costumed by Fields). And those who feel the character of Andy too easily gives herself over to the whole "you can't be too thin" or too overdressed cult of fashion. I say they're giving it too much thought.

Yes, there's a bit of the fashion Kool-Aid here -- a lecture or two on how fashion affects us all, even if the closest you come to a designer look is Jaclyn Smith at K-Mart, it all starts with some mad genius in an atelier in Paris (or a garage in Pittsburgh). And some real models, too (I loved the cameos by real-life models Heidi Klum -- in the audience at the Valentino show, Gisele Bunchen -- as a magazine editor -- and Bridget Hall, as, yes, a model). But last time I looked, Project Runway, bringing a bit of the magic out from behind the curtain for us all to share, is a hit; high end and low were morphing together at Target; and, yes, Prada is actually a household word, so maybe we've all had a sip of the potion. In fact, the world being what it is, I doubt with a capital D that any girl arriving in Manhattan for any job is as fashion clueless as Andy is set up to be, and the swirling, Mary Richards-type shots of her taking in the midtown Manhattan skyline tell me she was already seduced by the whole young in NY thing -- which generally includes a bit of style.

Whether it's true to the book or not, I can't say, because I always do say never read a book when they'll make a movie of it... the movie is shorter and will cut out all the dull stuff. In the case of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, there's the added bonus of being able to see the fashion, hear the music, and watch Meryl create another iconic character.