Review of The Devil Wears Prada (2006) by Hotelcentral — 24 Jun 2018

I give this film a 7 because I did actually see it through to the end, so I must have been at least modestly entertained, though I didn't ever really laugh aloud. I would say the film is well described by the definition for the word "droll. It's curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement.

What we have here is basically the same premise as the first half of Full Metal Jacket. It's about training for a job and discovering how terribly ill-prepared one is for the job. In place of a drill instructor showering recruits with obscenities, we have Meryl Streep flaying her underlings with a sigh and dismissing them with the flick of a manicured fingernail. I'm personally still wondering how Anne Hathaway's character snared the "job that a million girls would die for" when she apparently has no interest in fashion, but my guess is that most of the audience is primarily interested in the wardrobe. I've read that over a million dollars of fancy clothes are on display in this film (most of them borrowed from various fashion houses) and if that's your cup of tea then by all means enjoy. But if action flicks are your thing then take my advice and run, run as fast as you can, and do not return till the closing credits have faded from the screen.

There are "subplots" involving friends and a boyfriend, but the scenes devoted to these are so fleeting that they fail to engage at all.