Welcome to Nostalgia Bait Hell: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’
In a key scene from The Devil Wears Prada 2, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly gently asks Stanley Tucci’s Nigel if she’s been taking advantage of him for the past 20 years. The scene is played as if it comes from a genuine place, seemingly intended to make viewers say “aww” as Miranda finally recognizes her second-in-command’s skill and dedication to the magazine. Unfortunately, the scene falls flat on its face because seemingly everyone involved with Prada 2 forgot that the first movie ended with Miranda purposefully screwing Nigel out of a promotion he deserved to secure the future of her own career. It’s a key moment that leads Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs to leave the magazine and Miranda behind, vowing not to become that kind of person.
But that kind of person no longer exists in The Devil Wears Prada 2. There is no devil here, only an aimless, mischaracterized shell of a once-interesting character. When trailers for the film dropped, some fans questioned why Miranda seemingly couldn’t remember her history with Andy and Emily Blunt’s Emily Charlton, going so far as to wonder if she had dementia. Those concerns were laughable to me: obviously, Miranda just didn’t care about her assistants and was being her usual thorny self. Sadly, it turns out those fans were right. Not about the dementia, but about Miranda being nothing like her former self.
In fact, the entirety of Prada 2 is as aimless and meandering as Miranda’s character has become. There’s a weak and uninteresting plot, no real character development, and barely even any fashion but plenty of nostalgia bait! The film runs just under two hours long yet somehow feels like it’s pushing three, moving from scene to scene with no sense of purpose or reason.
It’s a disappointing result for a highly-anticipated sequel to a popular film, but at least Lady Gaga gets to take the stage for an electrifying fashion show that’s unfortunately just as random and meaningless as anything else in this film. None of our main characters even bother to watch it!
The Devil Wears Prada 2 shines a light on an important topic
The one pleasant surprise about The Devil Wears Prada 2 lies in its exploration of journalism’s importance in a changing world that only cares about social media clicks and using AI to suck the creative soul out of art. Andy and her entire team of journalists suddenly lose their jobs due to budget cuts, leading her to be rehired at Runway as their new features editor. Andy tries her best to steer Runway and Miranda out of a PR crisis, writing thought-provoking pieces that no one reads.
Focusing the entire film on that storyline may have resulted in something more entertaining, but halfway through it switches to another rote business takeover plot. This time, the new owner of Runway’s parent company tries to do a corporate restructuring and threaten Miranda’s livelihood. There’s another side plot focusing on Andy writing a tell-all book about Miranda (a reference to how the original The Devil Wears Prada book was written). This would’ve also been a more interesting storyline to follow, but it peters out weakly.
Instead of drawing you in with an engaging story, the film seems more concerned with making you remember how much you liked the first one. Remember those jokes? Remember when this character did that? Remember that outfit? It gets to a point where even if you don’t remember something, you can tell some kind of reference is being made because they’re so obvious.
This much anticipated sequel lacks strong characters
It’s like Prada 2 just wants to replay the hits of the first film. Miranda’s job is in trouble, Andy is desperately trying to save her, and Nigel is hardworking but overlooked. Somehow none of these dynamics have evolved in 20 years, to the point where Andy’s desperation to help Miranda just seems sad for a 40-something-year-old woman who has her own life and career to worry about.
Emily is the only character who seems to have changed over the years, perhaps because Emily Blunt is the only actor putting in a real effort. Stanley Tucci is decent as well, but Hathaway and Streep’s performances are shockingly phoned-in.
Blunt seems to be the only person who’s considered how their character evolved after the events of the first film, and it shows in her performance. Hathaway and Andy just seem happy to be here at all, albeit bogged down with an uninteresting romance plot that’s been shoved in for no reason. Meanwhile, Meryl Streep seems as uninterested in being in this movie as Miranda is in speaking to Andy.
Miranda is uncharacteristically passive. Sure, it’s been 20 years, and her reign of terror has been ended by numerous HR complaints, but Miranda doesn’t take any action at all. She simply floats about, buffeted by winds created by other characters. She has one good scene with Emily and several funny jokes, but no character development or real purpose in this story.
Simone Ashley looks fantastic as Miranda’s new right-hand woman, but she and the other assistant (played by Caleb Hearon) have no story either. Andy’s assistant Jin Chao, played by Helen J. Shen, at least gets something small to do.
Lady Gaga has a cameo as herself in one of the best scenes in the film, performing her excellent new song “Shape of a Woman” at Milan Fashion Week. The scene is electrifying and Gaga’s performance is incredible but what could’ve been a stunning third act set piece becomes a 1.5-minute music video as half of the main characters drive away from the fashion show as quickly as possible.
Final thoughts on The Devil Wears Prada 2
There’s plenty of other celebrity cameos and some great outfits, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 is much more interested in nostalgia bait than telling an entertaining story. It deserves recognition for shining a light on the importance of true journalism and human creativity, but the movie isn’t truly about these topics. They’re more of a backdrop for the meandering parade of characters moving aimlessly from scene to scene.
Unfortunately, even The Devil Wears Prada can’t escape the hell of weakly-written, poorly-paced nostalgia bait sequels/reboots/spinoffs that are starting to define the 2020s.
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