Issue #113: TDWP2

NO SPOILERS!

I’m no movie reviewer and I know that’s not why you visit me. But I had mentioned on my socials that I saw The Devil Wears Prada 2, and it made me kinda sad. A totally unexpected reaction. So of course people were curious how that could be? And a few people even mentioned that they felt the same way. Ok, that’s intriguing! I thought I was just in a mood or being a weirdo. But it would seem there were some shared feelings across the board.

I obviously can’t speak for anyone else and I won’t ruin any plot lines for you. This was just my vibe at that particular viewing. Maybe I’ll watch it again and feel differently once I get some grumpies out of my system.

Now, I LOVED the first movie. Like capital L-O-V-E, LOVED. It was right up my alley, at a time that my shopping addiction was out of control. Looking at fancy clothes and handbags in film was like crack to me. The Sex and the City movie followed a couple years after the original Devil Wears Prada and I didn’t even care about a story line so much as I wanted all of Carrie’s shoes and pined after Andy Sachs’ lucky career pivot into the Runway closet. These types of movies lit me up on a cellular level and oozed out of my body as stars in my eyes and a cash deficit in my wallet. I remember gasping a few times at the magic of fashion and magazines and New York City. Yes, I have come to realize I’m an advertiser’s dream (and to be fair, I still gasp at New York City).

But I had a very different reaction to this second movie. I was about halfway through when I realized how bummed it was making me. So my analytical brain couldn’t help but break down where the feelings were coming from. And I think there were a few things:

1. The fashion was ok. Very been-there-done-that. A few looks moved me, but mostly it felt like we’d seen it all before. There was so much build-up to these reveals and they were nice and pretty, with some cool European ‘fits, but I wanted my socks blown off.

2. So much has changed and I’m getting old. Yeah, age is coming for us all (except the vampires in this movie) and it is indeed a blessing. But, you know. I have a lot of nostalgia for the magazine days. And not just that, but the carefree existence of being a 20-something gal, just figuring it out and still dreaming big. Imagining that I, too could land a lucky job in fashion and be the plus-size kid (by 2000’s standards) who’d throw the whole industry for a loop. Those days of fantasizing the impossible are long gone. And that is something to be sad about.

3. The stupidity of consumerism. I KNOW. I’m such a fucking drag.

4. It felt pretty tone-deaf at a time when billionaires are controlling our narratives/policies while many people are just scraping by. Seriously, what is wrong with me??? LOL. Even typing this out, I know how preachy it sounds. And I get it. It’s a movie. Movies are supposed to be an escape. That’s exactly what I went in hoping for! I couldn’t wait to be swept up into this luxurious, idyllic world. I just couldn’t get there. There’s too much wrong. And maybe the world hasn’t changed as much since the original as I have, but I feel like it should.

OK, stop looking at me now, I’m always shy after I get on my high horse. Haha. I still think Meryl Streep is a goddess among mortals. I still thought the movie was cute. I still thought it had some good nods to the first film. And I still appreciated the cinematically gorgeous moments. And if you loved it, I’m happy for you. That’s what I wanted. My version probably would’ve been way more depressing with exactly zero audience members, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

I am curious if anyone else had similar feelings though… Talk soon!