The Devil Wears Prada 2 Movie Review – Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep Don’t Play Devil’s Advocate for the Changing Media Landscape

After 20 years since the last rodeo, it’s time for Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt to strike a pose again. They return for the stylish The Devil Wears Prada 2, which reunites them with the same director (David Frankel) and writer (Aline Brosh McKenna) to recapture the original’s spirit. However, this sequel isn’t a rehash, updating the setting to a modern era and focusing on current-day industry problems.

The story begins with Andy Sachs (Hathaway) getting laid off from her journalism job just as she accepts an award. However, her onstage rant about the power of journalism lands in front of Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the head cheese of the Elias-Clarke Group. Ravitz is in the midst of his own mini crisis as Runway deals with a scandal, so he offers Andy a job as a features editor to see if she can steer the ship and improve dwindling viewership numbers. After much deliberation, Andy accepts, thinking that her former boss Miranda Priestly (Streep) approved it. But here’s the catch: Miranda only finds out when Andy walks in that morning.

Like before, the hook in The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the dynamic between Miranda and Andy. While Miranda has changed – somewhat out of a fear of an HR lawsuit – she possesses the same forked tongue everybody remembers. Don’t expect a pat on the back from her at any point! Andy, though, is more confident. Even so, she can’t shake the desire to impress her demanding boss. 

What’s interesting about their relationship in this movie is how they’re actually more similar in their thinking than people give them credit for. Miranda struggles to navigate the new world of publishing where fashion has been reduced to simply scrollable content, while Andy desires to produce stories (and art) that move readers. There’s an “aha” moment when they finally click and their relationship improves, but there’s another spanner in the works waiting for them.

Tucci’s Nigel Kipling still serves as Miranda’s right-hand man and proves to be Andy’s venting outlet. As before, Tucci knows how to calmly steal the show and become the go-to between characters. Blunt’s Emily Charlton isn’t at the magazine anymore, though. She’s now an executive at Dior; however, she gets pulled into the story almost as soon as Andy rejoins Runway. Both play pivotal roles in the story, even if Blunt isn’t as prominently featured as in the original movie.

While there are new characters introduced, such as Simone Ashley’s Amari Mari, Patrick Brammall’s Peter, Justin Theroux as Benji Barnes, and Kenneth Branagh’s Stuart, none of them make as much of a splash as the main cast. They have their moments, yes, but there’s no debate about who carries the story here. In some instances, they could have been removed entirely and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Whereas the first film’s theme is about the high demands of luxury editorial, the sequel modernizes the message. It looks at the changing media landscape, especially in terms of how newsrooms have been decimated, corporate greed has run rampant, and the impact of AI on creative jobs. The movie pulls no punches, addressing the harrowing, deteriorating state of the industry, but it also champions the arts and suggests to the audience that they should do the same. Is anybody listening, or are we merely trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted?

The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn’t without its flaws, though. There are pacing issues throughout, as certain scenes could have been trimmed or cut altogether while others needed more time to breathe. Andy’s romance subplot is a notable example. It’s shoehorned into the story and doesn’t fit at all, yet it still forces its way in, adding absolutely nothing to either character’s development. Then there’s the case of Emily. While she has an important role in the main plot, she’s still underutilized. In the original film, Miranda, Andy, Nigel, and Emily are the heart and soul of the story. They’re all here, but it’s Emily who gets the short end of the stick in terms of screentime.

Those gripes aside, The Devil Wears Prada 2 turns out to be a sharp and endearing sequel. It isn’t a retread; instead, it showcases characters you will still recognize while making it clear they’ve grown over the past two decades. More importantly, it’s an unabashed celebration of art, being unafraid to speak up about the corporatization of the fashion and editorial world. In a time in which suits are gutting every publication for a quick profit and falling for every get-rich AI scam, this is a timely reminder that nothing sings to the soul quite like human creativity – and nothing will ever change that.

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