The Ottery
“If an otter can’t have fun doing something, it just simply won’t do it.”

Blah, Blah, Blahnik

July 29th, 2006

Dormouse and I went to see The Devil Wears Prada this afternoon (without the accompaniment of Porpoise, because he finds Anne Hathaway “disturbing to look at for an extended period of time”).

The general critical consensus has been that Meryl Streep is stunning as Miranda Priestly (Supreme Meanie editor of Runway magazine), and that the fashion is drool-worthy, but that the rest of the movie is fairly mediocre.

As far as the fashion, Dormouse and I spent much of the movie whispering “Eww! What is that?” back and forth, so no doubt it’s haute couture (a.k.a. ugly).

Streep is fun to watch, and not just because she plays overbearing and snide with flair, but also because she adds a few more complex layers to Priestly. She’s not just evil. As Priestly’s assistant Andy Sachs (Hathaway) points out during the movie, Miranda’s demanding personality wouldn’t even be an issue if she were a male editor. She would simply be judged by the quality of her work. Priestly does at least make choices and take responsibility for her choices.

Andy, however, as she is drawn further into Priestly’s orbit, keeps telling herself “I have to do this” (as in, “I have to answer my cell phone even when my boss calls me fifty times a day” or “I have to miss my boyfriend’s birthday party when my boss wants me to assist her at a Runway party”). Priestly does at least teach Andy that she is constantly making choices, that no one is forcing her to do anything.

However, half the time, the movie seems to want to punish Andy not for failing to take responsibility, but for caring too much about her career. None of her other friends—not her chef boyfriend, not her artist best friend—seems to struggle with balancing work and personal life. It only seems to matter for Andy because the time-consuming career she’s chosen is fashion—and possibly because she’s female. Dormouse pointed out during the movie that no one would question Andy’s need to devote time to her job if she were in med school.

Now, I’m not a person who wants a fast-paced, time-consuming career, because I just couldn’t handle it. I can’t produce good work without a fair amount of play. But neither do I think someone who is more naturally suited to a demanding job should be scorned for that. Whether or not Andy is suited for such a demanding career isn’t a question that The Devil Wears Prada really deals with. Instead, when she makes the simple “right” decision and walks away from Runway, she is “rewarded” by getting her boyfriend (and his grilled-Jarlsberg sandwiches) back in her life.

The movie was entertaining, but it didn’t leave me that much to write about. Maybe Dormouse and K can chip in.

Entry Filed under: Movies