Glossy, high voltage and so true to life – and the Devil has all the best lines: ALEXANDRA SHULMAN reviews the Devil Wears Prada 2

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (12A)

Evaluation:

The long-awaited Devil Wears Prada 2 has arrived in all its accessory-laden glory.

Was it worth waiting 20 years? Of course, this all depends on what you expect.

From the same opening sequences (iconic Manhattan skylines, crowded downtown sidewalks, bathroom mirror morning routine) we’re in familiar territory.

This story of Runway magazine’s well-intentioned intern Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) was directed with platinum-plated steeliness by Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly and became a major international hit.

This turned Lauren Weisberger’s entertaining book (yes, of course I’ve read it!), unashamedly based on her time as one of Anna Wintour’s assistants, into a global phenomenon.

It could even be argued that he did the same for Anna. The then-editor-in-chief of American Vogue was already known as one of the most influential women in fashion and had a reputation for her cool determination behind her ever-present Chanel sunglasses, but the film turned her into a cult figure of worldwide fame.

Of course, in the intervening years the magazine landscape has transformed into something unrecognizable; The all-important printed ‘book’ has become a single cog in a digital machine driven by websites and social media. That’s what Miranda Priestly reluctantly has to deal with right now.

When I first watched the movie years ago, I didn’t like it very much. But I noticed that most of them were close to reality.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is endlessly self-referential, referencing some of the best jokes in the original while also uncannily anticipating the situations the new order will present. Picture: Miranda Priestley, the cruel editor played by Meryl Streep

I had been editor of British Vogue for 14 years at that point and obviously knew Anna.

On the one hand, we were colleagues and met frequently at shows and dinners, but we also edited magazines that competed with each other on photographers, celebrities, and models. Her Vogue was always first.

When I took over the editor’s chair, the best photographers on our books were banned if they also worked for Harper’s Bazaar, Anna’s main competition in the US.

Anna’s rudeness when hearing things she doesn’t want to hear may rival that of Miranda Priestly, but she has always had a better sense of humor and wit than her fictional counterpart.

The film also captured the relentless importance of appearance. ‘Is it impossible to find a slim female paratrooper?’ The priest complains. This was a phrase I found embarrassingly recognizable.

It was difficult to borrow clothes for a shoot for women who were size 12 or 14; Some PR experts said they didn’t think such a person was ‘on brand’.

In the new version, the primary role of Priestly’s humorless new assistant Amari (played by Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley) is to prevent her boss from making politically incorrect statements.

In order to save the magazine, Priestly must reluctantly bow to today’s mea culpa culture and even apologize for ‘misunderstanding’.

Emily Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton, is reincarnated as an obnoxious PR expert at Dior in the new film.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is endlessly self-referential, referencing some of the best jokes in the original while also uncannily anticipating the situations the new order will present.

When the owner of the publishing company dies and his sportswear-wearing son inherits, all old bets are off, including Priestly’s long-desired promotion to global chief content officer (more or less what Anna is now).

Lunch is no longer held at New York’s ultra-expensive Four Seasons, but at the company cafeteria that Priestly doesn’t even know exists.

Management consultants are assigned to look at overall strategy (aka cost reduction); This is not entirely dissimilar to what has recently happened at Condé Nast, publishers of Vogue, where well-known titles like Glamor have seen massive layoffs and individual magazine editors are now incapacitated figures.

Priestly no longer comes to Runway magazine throwing her fur coats on her assistants’ desks, but almost collapses on the floor to hang her own fur coat. Worse still, from an economic standpoint, he will have to go through the embarrassment of flying to Milan!

Even so, he’s still the master of those damned condescending one-liners: ‘Do you have a condition that prevents you from walking?’ asks Andy, now back at the magazine, this time under his belt as features editor (though he is only seen writing rather than running a department).

Stanley Tucci’s creative director Nigel, whose job seems to be that of a one-man handyman, reprises his role as the loyal wingman, although he appears to be monitoring a fashion shoot on transparency rather than digital; This is something that ended in 1994.

The fictional Sasha Barnes and her ignorant tech husband Benji are key players in this new stay, in a plot that uncannily mirrors Anna’s new friendship with Amazon’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos (the couple she persuaded to finance this year’s Met Gala next Monday).

Anne Hathaway returns in the first film as Andy Sachs, Runway magazine’s beloved well-intentioned intern.

Benji is a wonderful person who enjoys his time in his magnificent villa on Lake Como. ‘I don’t make water these days. ‘I’m trying to solve the water shortage,’ he says, channeling his tech bros’ obsession with immortality.

But if the Devil has the best lines, this time around the Devil, it has to be Emily Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton, the original film’s toxic first assistant, now reincarnated as an obnoxious PR at Dior. She is simply gorgeous.

“Remember when magazines were… a thing,” the Runway team shouts as they are forced to contemptuously agree to Dior’s demands that a huge story be written on its new flagship store with “brand credits on every title” in order to maintain its advertising. It’s an incredibly familiar scene to me.

Emily’s campaign against Miranda to get her fired from Runway is the engine of the entire film.

In a plot that begs the question of the chicken or the egg, Runway’s soon-to-be new editor suggests that they appear on their own launch cover, similar to the way Anna recently appeared alongside Meryl Streep on the May cover of US Vogue.

In another flippant observation, when Andy hesitates to accept the $350,000 (£260,000) advance he’s offered to write a tell-all book about his boss, Miranda tells him to go ahead.

‘Keep all the interesting bits in there. ‘If you write this book, it could give me a few more years at the top.’ Nothing less than the truth.

Viewers looking to dive into the familiar pleasure of the original will be pleased with this entertaining sequel. The wildly extravagant clothes and of course my insane obsession with carbs are still there.

Guest appearances by Marc Jacobs, Donatella Versace and Lady Gaga demonstrate the series’ ongoing appeal in the fashion world.

Anyone with a more forensic approach to the film might question the clumsily added love interest of Andy and Miranda’s equally unconventional wet husband, played by Kenneth Branagh.

They can certainly argue about the ridiculous way Andy was brought back to the magazine and grumble about the slow start.

But they couldn’t deny that this was high-voltage, glittery entertainment. And what we all need right now is definitely some fun.