The Devil Wears Prada

We watched The Devil Wears Prada last night. It was as good as I had heard it would be.
Anyone who’s ever had a demanding, political job can empathise with Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), the new assistant to fashion editor Miranda Priestly (well-casted as Meryl Streep), the eponymous anti-heroine of the movie.
While generally entertaining, some parts of the movie were too exaggerated to be believable. How could a babe like Andy not know anything about fashion? Even I know how to spell “Gabbana”. However, I admit that the only difference between the two ‘turqoise’ belts, to me, was the size of the buckle.
After some initial hiccups, Andy’s chirpiness stays with her even months into the job, which is passable in a movie but I wondered if it would happen in real life. She had an amazing work attitude and even the most demanding boss would be impressed at the mountains she moved to stay in that job.
I can empathise with Andy on feeling like there was no choice in some matters. I went through that phase a couple years ago. Also, there’s the inevitable conflict between work versus friends, lovers and family. Sometimes you can’t juggle all of them together and something has to give. That’s when you re-assess your priorities in life. I felt a strong twinge of guilt while watching the movie, as I’ve become very tardy in keeping appointments with friends. I still haven’t visited two friends after they’ve given birth, and I’ve cancelled out on dinners, due to family and work commitments.
Miranda Priestly reminded me very much of Cruella De Vil. Fortunately no Dalmatians were harmed in the production of this movie (not sure about other types of furry animals, though). She was merciless, impossibly hard to please, but showed her human side eventually.
OK, any more spoilers and you’d make me walk off the runway. Go watch it and enjoy the show!