The Devil Wears Prada (has its cake and eats it) 2
The Devil Wears Prada is remembered for its iconic lines, eye-catching outfits, and stellar cast. Something that feels a little forgotten, however, is the story's origin as a thinly-veiled hit piece on Anna Wintour. The film had a bite. The Devil Wears Prada 2 has none.
Yet this, the sequel would have you believe, is a story that says something. Unlike its frivolous predecessor, The Devil Wears Prada 2 speaks to our cultural moment. Specifically it is a story about the importance of journalism. Andy and Miranda are both struggling to justify their positions in a world trying to say they are obsolete. The former gets laid off from her job as an investigative reporter in the first scene, while the push away from print media jeopardizes Miranda's ability to actually make a good fashion magazine.
On paper the conflict of the film is no longer Andy v. Miranda, but Andy and Miranda v. the world. Here the world is best personified by Justin Theroux, a cartoonish tech billionaire who threatens to buy Runway and run it into the ground. Yet there is no real interest in what it takes to make good journalism (in print or digital). Instead The Devil Wears Prada constantly calls back to the visuals and one-liners of the first film without any regard for what was underneath the surface. Lines about journalism being more important than luxury real estate might get cheers in a Brooklyn theatre (sources report) but it won't get the people in that theatre to subscribe to a local news outlet.
In service of this Andy and Miranda lose what edges made them compelling in the first film. Andy's "above it all" attitude and her inner conflict between wanting to stick to her principles and falling under Miranda's influence was interesting because it was played against Miranda's own acknowledgement that she is indeed a demanding boss even if what she does has merit (which Andy needs to learn). There are no easy winners in The Devil Wears Prada. Both Andy and Miranda lose something.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 has nothing but easy winners. The overarching conflict is solved via Deus Ex Lucy Liu, who sweeps in to buy Runway out from under Theroux (her ex-husband). The only thing that can stop a bad person with a billion dollars is Lucy Liu with a billion dollars.
But the emptiness at the heart of The Devil Wears Prada 2 is best exemplified by a personal experience: I'm inside a theatre watching the movie and Miranda ridicules the use of AI. The movie, it seems, is making a statement in service of its pro journalism, pro fashion, pro human creation message. The credits roll. I walk out onto the New York City street and see a Devil Wears Prada 2 promotional ad for Google Gemini.