Twofer

(It's pronounced "two-fer", in case you weren't familiar with the term, as in 2 for 1.) For the first time in a long, long while I saw two movies in one weekend. The first was Wordplay, reviewed earlier, and the second was The Devil Wears Prada.

MOVIE REVIEW
The Devil Wears Prada stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Stanley Tucci in a drama about fashion publishing and, presumably, the pitfalls of selling out. Somehow the integrity-laden Andy/Andrea (Hathaway) ends up as second assistant to one of the most powerful people in publishing, the head of Runway magazine, Miranda (Streep). Andy knows nothing of fashion and doesn't care to. Miranda takes a chance on this bright eyed college grad in spite of the misgivings of the entire staff. Andy must fetch Starbucks, hang coats, and put up with endless comments about her wardrobe and size (a 6, oh dear). But Andy puts up with all of this because, as she is told by the first assistant, she could land any job in publishing she wants if she sticks it out for a year with Miranda. That is, we are led to believe, a big if. Does Andy make it? Is Miranda the devil? Will Andy's friends be around to see her make it?

The movie is visually lovely, charming in parts, and makes a clear point. It's nice and harmless. Streep's white hair and ever-calm voice are perfect. The supporting parts are well cast; the boyfriend is adorably, realistically faithful. However, story development was slow, drama and intrigue were lacking (mainly in the first half), and sympathy fairly low for the protagonist. I didn't especially care if Andy made it through happily. The source of my malaise wasn't the acting and it wasn't the wardrobe or sets (lovely, ah Paris). It was definitely the pace and script. I feel like I, the casual viewer, could have offered several obvious improvements and made this a deliciously fun drama. Alas, it is not to be.