The unstoppable force meets the immovable object. On the one side is the insatiable corporate overlord need for IP and extracting as much juice out of a story as possible, a soulless cash grab. On the other side is 4 of the greatest talents working in movies: Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and maybe the greatest to ever do it, Meryl Streep, living and breathing art incarnate. The odds are not in our quad’s favor, but, as I learned watching Prada 2, never doubt Streep.
20 years after Andi Sachs (Anne Hathaway) left Runway, life has…kind of gone on. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is still leading Runway, with loyal Nigel (Stanley Tucci) at her side. The “other Emily” (Emily Blunt) has moved onto Dior. And Andi got that journalist career she always wanted, winning story of the year at the journalism awards. But this is a new era: Andi wins this award…and is promptly let go from her newspaper who’s monetarily under water and folding, while Runway is now more interested in clicks and screentime than fashion shows. When a scandal befalls Runway’s journalism department, owner Irv Ravitz needs to bring in someone trustworthy to blow past this mini scandal. And guess who’s now jobless with a viral speech about her great journalist work?
As plot mechanics go, much of The Devil Wears Prada 2 recreates a LOT of the same sequences as the first movie. Andi running around in heels putting out fires, Miranda schemeing behind the scenes, Emily and Andi having fun sniping at each other sorta friendly sorta not. Nigel just rolling his eyes when Andi’s need for approval doesn’t get satisfied. Killer outfits and New York/Italian locations. That’s the comfort food of Prada 2. But all of that’s sorta window dressing around the real story. This sequel isn’t pitting Andi against Miranda or life vs career aspirations, no. Aline Brosh McKenna’s script is about obsolescence. The OG Prada came out in 2006, and since then, financial crashes of 2008 and the pandemic have fundamentally destroyed the two industries at the center of the characters in this movie. Miranda and Andi are titans…in a world that no longer exists. Not to mention also being two powerful women still being controlled by the pocketbooks of even more powerful men like Irv. Every major conflict in Prada 2 is about both of them fighting against this relegation, based on the new reality and rules being presented to them. Those fashion shows at the Galleria de Vittorio Emmanuel II in Milan? Lavish Office Spaces? Hamptons Brunch Parties? There’s a pervasive melancholy around all of them, as terms like restructuring, strategy consultants, and mergers are being uttered in rooms by people who only view Miranda and Andi’s work as lines on a balance sheet. Bold choice for a supposedly fizzy comedy sequel, but for Prada 2, it’s the jolt of new energy that makes the movie interesting to be a part of.
Especially cause with story evolution comes character evolution. Everyone of our quad is doing something different due to the world changing, except for Stanley Tucci, content to be the steadying force, as Nigel basically already was. Those expecting Miranda Priestly to be the same chilling power mad despot are going to be disappointed. Meryl plays Miranda like that 2006 version is all in there, but she has to suppress it to keep her power, or she will get accused of toxic workplace crimes. Streep goes for hurt predator in waiting, with fewer one liners and much more interested in saving her place and Runway as a whole. It’s less Instagrammable, but better for making Prada 2 a success. Anne Hathaway still carries the wide eyed innocent being out of Runway forever. But this Andi is much more career settled at this point, and as such, more adaptable and agreeable to Miranda’s strategies/schemes. Paired with Streep’s performance, the two find themselves closer to equal footing, seeing the same plights in each other and working together to try to stave off the inevitable for just a bit longer. Emily Blunt is at another company, so she’s a bit sidelined in Prada 2, but she amplifies 2006’s Emily with more power, and a bit of an anger inside of her, clearly hurt that Miranda forced her out of Runway when all Emily wanted was to stay there. None of the new cast leave too much of a lasting impression: Justin Theroux is having the most fun playing a daffy tech bro happy to be around beautiful women all the time, and Simone Ashley has fun side eyeing everyone that isn’t Miranda as 2026’s version of Emily Blunt.
And that’s 2026 in a nutshell right? Everything changes, and everything stays the same. In this specific case, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the good version of that statement: Meryl, Anne, Emily, Stanley, beautiful clothes, and beautiful cities are that wonderful comfort food you get when you’re having a bad day, just to relax and enjoy yourself. As for the rest of the world: I would like everything to change WAY more than I would like everything to stay the same please?