The Devil Wears Prada movie

[ceebeegee]

I watched Elizabeth's DVD of The Devil Wears Prada the other day. Interestingly, it's one movie that's actually much better than the book, which I found interesting but not well-written. Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway do exceptional work and really flesh out Miranda and Andrea's relationship nicely. It's much more dimensional than in the book. I also like the plot changes here and there they've made, especially when Andrea goes to Paris instead of Emily--it's actually part of Andrea's character development instead of just a lucky accident. Loved her relationship with Nigel--I especially liked his scolding her that "so many girls would die to work here whereas you only deign to work here." Loved Miranda's monologue on Fashion Trickle-Down, and the opening montage where you see all these young women dressing for the day--armoring themselves, really, dressing well is a form of offense/defense. And thank goodness they took out the Lily melodrama subplot--as much as I would've liked Tracie's part to be bigger, I found it annoying that her addiction problems were supposed to be Andrea's fault. I like Andrea making her choice in the end for her own reasons, and not because her roommate is that messed up. (I find it impossible to believe when someone's in Paris on a business trip, that her whole family and her BF would be lecturing her on why she MUST come home to help her friend--why can't one of them go? Especially if it meant losing her job.)

However it's ludicrous that Anne Hathaway would be considered fat there--she isn't any heavier than Emily Blount and it's annoying that the movie insists this, or that we're supposed to think that Emily is thinner in the second half of the movie. If they're going to try to push this, they should've padded AH and asked Emily Blount to lose weight for those scenes. Also, the guy who plays Christian looks at least ten years older than AH and it comes off as kind of sleazy, especially when they're in Paris together. He just doesn't have much charm, not the way the character in the book has. Another odd thing is--I get that Andrea is supposed to be clueless to fashion in the beginning, but would she really dress *that* sloppily for a job interview, or for her first day of work? No wonder everyone sneered at her--that looks disrespectful.

Comments

[carasol.livejournal.com]

I think that's part of the comedy: Anne/Andrea isn't heavy at all, but to these looks-obsessed people, she is, probably for the mere reason that she isn't one of them. When she does "drink the kool-aid," as it were, she announces that she is now a size 4. It isn't that she was ever heavy, it's just that she wasn't like them, and now she is.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

I agree--but the point is, the filmmakers have to make a greater distinction between Anne/Andrea and Emily. I literally do not see any weight difference at all between them. Emily looks to be the exact same weight as Anne/Andrea. If they're going to make the point that Anne/Andrea looks "fat" to them, everyone around them must be absolutely skeletal. The joke is lost when Emily looks just as big/small/whatever as Anne.

[defy-gravity99.livejournal.com]

There you go, that's exactly what I was trying to say. Emily needs to be much skinnier in order to show the contrast. Thank you - that's perfect.