Stubs - The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Simon Baker. Directed by David Frankel. Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna. Based on The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger.  Produced by Wendy Finerman. Run time: 109 minutes. Color. USA. Comedy, Drama

Lauren Weisberger was 26 when she turned her experience as an assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour into a book. The best-selling novel, The Devil Wears Prada, spent six months on New York Times's bestseller list. Fox bought the rights to the novel even before it was finished. Carla Hacken, then the studio's executive vice president, had only seen the first hundred pages of the manuscript and an outline for the rest of the plot.

As is common practice in Hollywood, four screenwriters worked on the property. Peter Hedges wrote the first draft; another writer passed. Paul Rudnick did some work on Miranda's scenes, followed by a Don Roos rewrite. Aline Brosh McKenna produced a draft that struck a balance for Finerman and Frankel, whose notes were incorporated into a final version, rearranging the plot significantly, and focusing the story on the conflict between Andy and Miranda.

Meryl Streep was not the first choice for Miranda. She was initially not considered because no one knew she could be funny. Before her, Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were considered before her. Signing Streep allowed Fox to greenlight the project.

Rachel McAdams was the producer’s first choice to play Andy. After she repeatedly turned down the role, other actresses were considered, including Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansson. Anne Hathaway actively pursued the role and was hired without having to audition.

The film was in production for 57 days, starting on September 17, 2005 and included shooting in both New York City and Paris. The film was released on June 30, 2006. Made on a budget of around $41 million, the film made $326,588,371 worldwide.

Aspiring journalist Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) has recently graduated from Northwestern University and moved to New York City and lives with her boyfriend Nate Cooper (Adrian Gernier). Her friend from college, Lily (Tracie Thoms) and Doug (Rich Sommer), round out her group of close friends.

Emily (Emily Blunt) intimidates as she trains Andy (Anne Hathway).

Her job search lands her at Runway magazine. Despite her lack of knowledge of the fashion industry, she is hired as a junior personal assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), a notoriously cruel editor-in-chief. The first assistant, Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), barely tolerates her. Andy resolves to put up with Miranda's and Emily’s abusive treatment until she can use her connections from Runway to find a job more focused on journalism.

Miranda treats her assistants as valets, making Andy hang up her coat.

Andy fits in poorly with her superficial, fashion-forward co-workers, and struggles to meet Miranda's irrational demands. Early on, she is given a lesson on fashion that applies to most of us.

Miranda (Meryl Streep) delivers what has become known as the "Cerulean belt monologue" educating us all on fashion.

Early on, she is part of a fashion discussion in which there has to be a choice made between two belts that look almost identical to her. She laughs at the perceived silliness of it.

Miranda Priestly: Something funny?

Andy Sachs: No... No, no, nothing's... you know, it's just... both those belts look exactly the same to me. You know, I'm still learning about this stuff and, uh...

Miranda Priestly: "This stuff"? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets?

[turns to an outfit she is styling]

Miranda Priestly: I think we need a jacket here.

[Nigel nods, leaves the room]

Miranda Priestly: And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores, and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs. And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room... from a pile of "stuff".

When Andy’s father (David Marshall Grant) comes to see her, he’s somewhat disappointed at her career choices. But they don’t have long to talk about it as Andy is tasked with arranging a flight for Miranda from Miami during a hurricane. But try as she might, Andy can’t pull it off and the next Monday, Miranda berates her about it.

Nigel (Stanley Tucci) befriends Andy and tries to upgrade her wardrobe.

Andy finds a respective ear in Runway's art director, Nigel (Stanley Tucci). He gives her some tough love but he also helps her select stylish clothes to wear to work. Andy looks good in the new clothes and everyone takes notice of the change.

Andy is set up to fail by Miranda when she is tasked with getting copies of the then unpublished Harry Potter novel for Miranda’s twins. With the help of freelance writer Christian Thompson (Simon Baker), who flirts with her every time he sees her, she manages to pull that off, much to the astonishment of Miranda.

Slowly, Andy starts to take her job more seriously, which means having to take Miranda’s calls no matter what else she’s doing. While her friends like the freebies she gives them, they mock her obedience to her boss. Eventually, things come to a head.

The event that changes everything for Andy and Emily.

On Nate’s birthday, Andy is called upon to assist Miranda at a party she’s throwing. Andy is called into action because Emily is under the weather. Their job is to make it look like Miranda recognizes everyone. When Andy recognizes someone Emily can’t, things begin to change. The biggest sign is when Miranda dumps her coat and purse on Emily's desk instead of Andy's.

The big event in the story is Paris Fashion week, something Emily has been talking about and following extreme diets to fit into the couture outfits she hopes to pick up there. But having shown up to work sick and forgetting the name of an important guest has turned Miranda against her.

Miranda subsequently selects Andy to accompany her to Paris Fashion Week instead of Emily and makes Andy tell her. As Andy calls Emily to inform her of the change of plan, the latter is hit by a car. While visiting her in the hospital, Andy tells Emily the news; Emily is horrified that Andy accepted Miranda's offer.

Andy breaks up with her boyfriend Nate (Adrian Gernier) before leaving for Paris.

Later, after an argument with Nate, he breaks up with her, disappointed that she has become one of the shallow, egotistical women she once ridiculed.

With the boyfriend out of the way, Christian Thompson (Simon Baker) finally woos Andy in Paris.

In Paris, Andy learns that Miranda's husband has filed for divorce. Later that night, Nigel tells Andy that he has accepted a job as creative director for rising designer James Holt. Andy spends the night with Christian, who tells her that Jacqueline Follet (Stephanie Szostak), Miranda's counterpart as editor-in-chief at French Runway, is being prepared to replace Miranda. Andy attempts to warn Miranda, but Miranda dismisses her.

At a later luncheon, Miranda announces Jacqueline as Holt's new creative director, much to Andy and Nigel's shock. Nigel tries to pass it off as something Miranda will make up to him later.

While in a limousine, Miranda reveals that she already knew of the scheme to replace her and sacrificed Nigel's ambitions to preserve her own job. Andy is repulsed by Miranda's betrayal of her friend, but Miranda points out that Andy did the same thing to Emily by agreeing to accompany Miranda to Paris.

Afraid to become the type of person Miranda is, Andy storms off. When Miranda tries calling her, Andy tosses her phone into the Fontaines de la Concorde.

Back in New York, Andy meets up with Nate, who tells her he has a new job as a sous-chef in Boston, and they agree to keep in touch. The same day, Andy has an interview at the New York Mirror newspaper. The editor (John Rothman) recounts that when he called Runway for a reference, Miranda told him that Andy was the biggest disappointment she had ever had as an assistant, and that he would be an idiot not to hire her.

After getting the job, Andy calls Emily and offers her the clothes she obtained in Paris. While walking past the Runway office building, Andy sees Miranda and waves at her. Miranda does not acknowledge Andy, but smiles to herself once seated in her car.

The acting all around is quite good. Even though this is a world most viewers have no experience with, the characters seem to be very believable. Everyone has had a bad boss at one time or another, perhaps not as bad as Miranda, but we all have been where Andy finds herself. You take a temporary job and suddenly that becomes the center of your life.

The leads all put their best foot forward. Meryl Streep proves that she can be funny, if even in a dark comedy sort of way. You always get the idea that she is aware of how she’s affecting everyone around her, even when she seems not to care. Streep makes Miranda into a three-dimensional character and she delivers the "Cerulean belt monologue" in such a way that you’d think she was a fashionista. For her performance, Streep was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

Anne Hathaway is also great as Andy, who goes through many changes in the movie. She’s a bit of a deer in the headlights at the beginning of the film, who eventually becomes her own person before realizing she doesn’t like who she’s becoming and changes her tact. Even though she may not have the same reputation as Streep, who does, Hathaway has shown herself to be a gifted actor.

Like Streep and Hathaway, Stanley Tucci was not the first choice for Nigel. The producers had originally wanted to hire a gay actor for the role. Tucci was only cast three days before production was scheduled to begin. Tucci based the character on various people he was acquainted with, insisting on the glasses he ultimately wore. His character being gay is handled subtly, though there is no attempt to disguise it. He becomes someone Andy can talk to, though he never lets her feel sorry for herself.

Emily Blunt was hired after the producers had considered over 100 actresses for the role. Her British accent, which Blunt insisted on using in the role, only seems to add her character. Emily is an early foil to Andy but it’s perhaps that treatment which spurns Andy on to do better. Blunt definitely holds her own.

Even though the subject matter revolves around the world of fashion, something most of us know nothing about, that lack of familiarity is not a hinderance to the film. The film does educate the viewer on the part fashion plays in our everyday lives, even if we don’t realize it, with the “Cerulean belt monologue.” However, it is not the fashion industry so much as the people that the film concentrates on. The same story could have been told, though less glamorously, about any industry. But the glamour is sort of the cherry on the top.

The Devil Wears Prada is a gem of a film. It’s enjoyable on many levels, including the acting and a story that is relatable to anyone who has worked for a tough boss. You will laugh and you just might come to appreciate the fashion industry if you didn’t already.