By Tiana Rosiak – Staff Reporter

The film “The Devil Wears Prada” premiered in theaters in 2006. The drama-comedy movie follows Andy (Anne Hathaway), a recent college graduate, who aspires to become a journalist and work for a magazine in New York City. She manages to land a job at Runway, a well-known fashion magazine, despite her lack of knowledge surrounding fashion. Rather than be a journalist, Andy becomes an assistant to the feared editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) and has to navigate the new world of fashion alongside her devoted co-worker Emily (Emily Blunt) and new friend Nigel (Stanley Tucci).

The film shines with its feature components: fashion and music. Songs like “Vogue” by Madonna and “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall have become synonymous with the movie. The soundtrack shines and does not contain any odd choices. In a movie focusing on a fashion magazine, the styling is incredibly important, and the film doesn’t lack in that area. With iconic pieces from designers, the movie does an amazing job of highlighting the different styles of the area. The film also features characters who appear realistic. The inside of a famous magazine may be the place where a person can find the most arrogant, pretentious people, and the film does a good job of showcasing that. And with characters who come off as being nasty, the creators managed to also make them likeable. One of the main characters, Miranda Priestly, is horrible to her staff, and yet she is one of the most quoted and beloved characters in the entire film.

“The Devil Wears Prada” ultimately struggles with its side characters. Nate, Andy’s boyfriend, feels completely underdeveloped. In scenes that feel like the audience is meant to agree with him, he only seems unconvincing. Nate, although not a character viewers are supposed to hate, comes off as mopey and inconsiderate, leading him to be heavily unlikeable. The side characters fall under the same unfortunate circumstances as well. Two other named friends of Andy, Lily and Doug, are both undeveloped in a similar sense. Not much information about them is given to the audience, and when they finally decide to have a moment of conflict with Andy, they struggle to have the audience on their side. The main focus of the film is on four of its main characters, and while it does a good job at it, it also discards the supporting cast.

“The Devil Wears Prada” has remained a classic since its initial release two decades ago. When watching the film, it’s clear to see how it’s kept that title. With memorable characters and even more memorable styling, the movie proves to its audience that it’s worthy of all the praise it’s received.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars