That’s All

It’s been twenty years since the world of fashion was brought to life on the big screen. In 2006, The Devil Wears Prada broke box-office records and inspired everyone to think a little more deeply about the outfits they would wear.

Now, twenty years later, the characters return for the sequel. The announcement took the world by storm, and many fans were excited to see the iconic characters back together again.

Nothing was more exciting than the return of Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton, Stanley Tucci as Nigel, and Meryl Streep as the terrifying Miranda Priestly.

The press for the movie was also amazing, with makeup and designer brands collaborating with the film.

The nostalgia was the most enticing aspect of both the movie announcement and the actual film itself. The banter, the wit, and the callbacks to the original film made audiences giddy with nostalgia.

But as for the actual movie?

It felt more like a well-written fanfiction. There were returning characters and enough new ones to balance the setting, but the plot was lacking. Like any sequel that comes out more than ten years after the original, the writers have to adapt to new technology and social concepts.

The main protagonist, Andy Sachs, faces the threat of technology to her job as a journalist. Industries across the country, from news to fashion, are crumbling under the threat of new management and the advancement of technology. This plot is believable but simply not necessary.

The movie felt like something completely intended for nostalgia that holds no true purpose itself. That doesn’t make it a terrible thing, but it makes it a movie that lacks re-watchability.

The fashion is stunning and the cast aged like fine wine, but there was no investment in the story. It felt very repetitive with the conflict of Miranda’s job on the line.

Sequels are historically a tricky thing to master in Hollywood, and many franchises have died simply because of that. There are very few sequels that can match the original, let alone pass it. Aliens 2, Scream 2, and The Godfather Part 2 are some of the most popular out of the few movies to surpass the originals.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 doesn’t match its original, but maybe it was just impossible for it to do so.

It doesn’t make this a terrible movie that shouldn’t have been made at all, but it truly just serves to give fans a wave of nostalgia.

The movie is about nostalgia, and that’s all.