‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is a love letter to print journalism

Fashion may take the stage but this sequel is also a delightful ode to print journalism. Here’s our review of The Devil Wears Prada 2.

I believe we should be championing new IPs and trying new ideas. I really do. But when it’s Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, and the Queen of Genovia—call me a spineless self-indulgent consumer but I am sat. Cynics will say that a sequel twenty years after the first movie is obviously a money grab. The filmmakers will then retort that they came back simply because they felt they had a story to tell, which is exactly what writer Aline Brosh McKenna and David Frankel said. “Psh,” you say. “It’s a convenient excuse.”

This time, it’s true.

[Hero and feature image: 20th Century Studios]

Review: The Devil Wears Prada 2 tells a fashionable tale of a magazine hanging on

A lot has changed in 20 years, except for the beauty of Streep, Tucci, Blunt, and Hathaway. They’re still as gorgeous as ever, and it makes me yearn even harder for the moment I see Anne as Mia Thermopolis Renaldi once again, with none other than Chris Pine beside her, in the next Princess Diaries. But I digress.

Andy Sachs (Hathaway) is now a full-fledged journalist, and since she’s a full-fledged journalist, she’s learned that it’s full-fledged in its struggles. An opportunity comes up for her to return to Runway where Miranda Priestly (Streep) and Nigel Kipling (Tucci) are keeping up with the times, but may need the help of Andy to steer the boat back in the right direction.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

If the first movie was a love letter to fashion, this movie is a love letter to print journalism. Don’t get me wrong, fashion is still pivotal here. Those shoots in Milan where Meryl and Stanley were embedded in actual fashion shows during Fashion Week were not simply for spectacle. The movie also gives due reverence to the hallowed houses of fashion, each of which is given ample screen time and mentions. They didn’t want to be in the first film back in ‘06. The story is the complete opposite now.

But surprisingly, the plot of the film pivots around print journalism—or perhaps, the lack thereof in 2026. Nigel scoffs when Andy calls Runway a magazine because, well, it’s barely a magazine anymore. Both he and Miranda still try to cling to the past, whether it’s making tangible edits on hard copies with pen and ink or Miranda’s hilarious efforts to try and avoid saying anything that isn’t politically correct.

At the centre of this is Andy, who really, really just wants to be a journalist, but finds herself having to cope with the quick pacing of stuff. No, I don’t mean news; I mean how quickly things change in the industry.

A Story to Tell

You’d think the fading of print journalism and the question of clicks vs. integrity would be more fitting for a David Lynch-helmed thriller written by Aaron Sorkin. But it fits so well here in the world of fashion, especially with the combination of Andy and Miranda. Andy is the staunch truth-teller, sticking to her morals and values, while Miranda doesn’t just have an eye for beauty but is, at the core of it all, a true admirer of it. One could even say, its defender.

That’s what makes this a sequel done so well. Look, I can be happy with a rehash of a classic. The Force Awakens was basically A New Hope and I liked it. But that’s why I admire and value the effort and care taken into doing a sequel like this, because it very obviously isn’t a cash grab.

They did have a story to tell—and man, did they tell it.