My kryptonite? Big strong men who become little babies when you compliment them. Metal heads who blush when you say they have pretty eyes. Big boys in jerseys who whine when you tell them they’re pretty. Tall gamer boys who lean down to bury their face in your neck when you say nice things about them. Masculine men who whimper like bitches in heat when you praise their bodies.
i think if you are in a position of power and use that power to tell people that you see their every move and are going to do what you deem "appropriate reactions" to them breaking your personal preference rules in private spaces AND ALSO tell them you have spies watching them just in case they try to hide then that makes you a bad person
So people have been asking for my Devil Wears Prada 2 reaction and here it is!
This is a loooong post and is all over the place because I’ve gotten two hours of sleep in the past two days so 😅
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
Under the cut!
-loved seeing the original cast
-anne and meryl are gorg
-andy (anne?), baby, youre not beating the puppy!andrea allegations
-andy looked at miranda like she hung the moon so many times???
-hated that fucking fringe tassel jacket of mirandas
-idk miranda felt off to me at times; wheres the acerbic-ness of her? she feels more human, sure, and im sure in 20 years shes changed, but shes still the HBIC and that did not feel true here 90% of the time
-miranda kept feeling like she was taking a backseat to everything, like she was just rolling over and taking it up until the end and that just felt ooc considering the first film (knowing about irv and Jacqueline) and in this one how she knew Emily was trying to take over and knew other things before they were mentioned
-andy's boyfriend served no purpose (even tho i want her to be gay as fuck, this isnt about that). he quite literally did not serve any other purpose other than 'andy needs man' which....boring. it wouldve been nice to see her flourish as a career driven women who does not prioritize or give two fucks about a man
-mirandas husband??? who are you??? there was no chemistry between them, it felt stale, he felt more like a life coach?, he did not seem like someone miranda would want by her side? I was utterly confused truly. (again, HBIC needs no man. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY MEN????)
-hate the narrative that Emily needed to use a tech bro to get ahead. its been 20 years, would have loved to see Emily be a fucking proweress in the fashion world: heading dior, knowing that miranda needed her for ad revenue etc etc, there could have been more here. also for her to undermind miranda? predictable and tired.
-the movie brought forward a lot of concepts that i feel are so important to talk about right now, with tech rising, AI taking over, people losing attention spans and just focusing on hot viral trends and clicks, about how journalism is still fucking important, how fashion is artistry etc etc and while those were all introduced, it just felt unfinished somehow? like it was never a finished thought? it didnt feel very meaningful? andy and miranda leaving the major event in milan felt like the climax of the movie, especially when we find out (predictably) that lucy liu is buying elias clark, it somehow felt rushed and lackluster? we see andy making all of those phone calls, we see them arrive back at lucy's place (bro I cant remember her characters name lol) and lucy saying she trusts miranda and andy to take care of it all, but it felt like the bigger aspect was emily losing out on becoming EIC. idk
-love that miranda finally acknowledges nigel and that what he does for her, has done for her is so much and that he could want more. love that she gives him the opportunity to speak in milan, however, would have loved for that scene to be more. let nigel talk about runway, fashion, artistry, journalism, all of it. could have been a more privotal moment and the movie just...cuts away. also nigel felt very awkward here and it would have been nice to see him flourish and own that fucking stage
-love that it seems like nigel has been following andy's career, but it was a little disappointing to learn that he was basically the reason andy got hired by irv, when it should have been more prominent that andy got it because of her passionate speech on journalism and her accolades.
-would have loooooved for the scene when miranda leaves the dinner and walks around milan and returns to her suite, to have that conversation with andy. for them to bond over the fact that they are two women who value their work (in their own ways) and what its cost them over the years, that miranda is capable of adapting to the way the world is changing regarding fashion/art/etc etc, she just needs to decide how to go about it, that andy is in her corner. we see a little of this in the car scene between the two (when andy is making absolute MOON eyes at miranda, mind you), but even then Andy doesn't really go the mile like i wanted her to. I wouldve loved to see her defend miranda and say "no i saved runway for you, maybe me too, but you are runway" type shit. to show miranda that even though shes had a go at being EIC and has trust issues, there are people there that have fought for her rather than against her (again, the scene with nigel wouldve been good to explore this more as well)
-the kitchen scene in the Hamptons was straight out of a fucking fanfic lmaoooo can’t wait to read the fics about this scene!!!
-literally just hated all of the men that were added in the movie. all the boyfriends/husbands. why. just...cut them out. truly. if youre going to make emily the evil one here, which they really didnt even do successfully mind you, then go about it differently. none of the women had chemistry with their partners and it just felt stilted.
-lily being there kinda lowkey pissed me off. if youre going to have her still be andys friend 20 years later, it wouldve been nice to have a conversation about how andy grew and changed because of runway and how she flourished post-runway and still could etc. felt weird considering lily lowkey was a bad friend in the first one and I would’ve loved to see some friendship scene here
-the writing the book about miranda wouldve been such a good plot if they also didnt rush that? weird subplot imo. andy, obviously, has a very complex view of miranda. she was her boss before, is again. miranda was a bitch in the first movie and still has some of those qualities in this one, but andy can appreciate a woman in charge who demands perfection because of the pressure that shes under. it wouldve been a great way to analyze miranda more. it just felt like a weak subplot that never really went anywhere? even when miranda gets andy in that 'i know about it' scene in the car, it just didnt feel like enough. again, another missed opportunity for them to talk about everything that happened in the first movie, and this one, and what their relationship has meant. what miranda means to andy. how shes impacted andy whether she knew it or not.
-andy forgiving emily (in what seems like a pretty quick turn around) felt weird. there should have been more to that conversation, but i did enjoy the "you dont need a man, you are iconic, get it done" even though that also kinda felt like a predictable conversation
-loved the nods to the original without them being the main point. loved the belts, the bagel, the cerulean runway, the cerulean sweater, the ‘go’ at the end. its a great way to pay homage without relying on the original things to push this movie forward
-miranda would never fly coach. she's been in this industry for DECADES. even if they cut the budget, youre telling me that one: she doesnt have the miles to upgrade or two:she wouldnt just pay for it herself??? weird. she wouldve at least sat first class and made the rest of the staff fly coach.
-simone ashley, beautiful. her outfits were so perfect. shes gorg. i wouldve loved to see more about her, or charlie, and why they were there. whats their backstory? they just were...there. they didnt really serve a purpose at all? idk. andy's assistant Jin, too. like..okay. she put the phone under mirandas chair. but. that was it? what was the point? It’s almost like there were too many new characters introduced and not even time to develop their stories and I missed that
-that being said, there wasnt anything, at least in this first watch through, that felt like it would be an iconic line, not like the first. there werent any zingers that caught my attention, that made me really giggle, that made me go 'oooh'. nothing like "thats all" or "gird your loins" or "please move at a glacial pace, you know how that thrills me". theres a few that will gain traction because theres nothing else to offer "youre a vendor" and "shared carbs dont have calories" and "dont carb shame me" but. this movie does not feel like it will become a staple, does not feel like it will become a comfort watch that will be watched over and over (once it hits streaming). it does feel like a good homage to the first, a decent follow up, and decent sequel (which most nowadays all fall fucking flat and BAD), and tbh, the fanfic fuel from this movie will be FANTASTIC. (writers, tag me in your fix it fics and everything). The gifs and fanvids will also be amazingggg
-overall, a decent sequel, probably a 7/10 watch for me. it felt nice to see them all together again, anne hathaway is fucking gorg (and 100% in love with miranda/meryl), nigel is still an angel, and the fanfics from this will be amazing. however, it felt rushed, incomplete, and lacking in a lot of ways that i think a movie about this topic shouldve delved deeper in and that was disappointing. I think it did fantastic at the homage and nods to the original and didn’t make the nostalgia flashbacks feel like too much or not enough, but the storyline and writing could’ve definitely been crafted a little better.
Sorry my thoughts were all over. I definitely want to watch it again and really see how I feel about it. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think I’ll watch it as a comfort watch over and over like I do with the first. But, anyways :)
If you read all of this, I love you. If you’ve seen the movie, let me know your thoughts!!!
If anyone’s ever seen the movie 10 Inch Hero then you know what I’m talking about when I say I need a lil series inspired by that but with the ST crew because Priestly is giving me serious Eddie vibes, especially after his lil monologue in the grocery store!
do you ever think about how everyone is someone? about how all those people you walk past and never see again have their own lives in this world and you'll never know anything about them? you'll never know why that woman was crying on the bus, or the name of the person who smiled at you when they walked past. there's so many possibilities for what someone's life is, you'll never know how similar a stranger is to you, or how hard someone's life is that they cry in public. it works with other emotions too - don't you ever wonder what made a group of friends fall over each other laughing in the middle of a city street? or what celebration it was that made that woman hand her partner flowers? maybe there was no special occasion at all. those little snippets of conversation you overhear from people, without any context or any reason behind what can be the most bizarre thing you'll hear all week. and do you ever think about how other people wonder the same things about you?
The only thing that’s keeping me sane from coronacation rn is fan fictions, and I’m actually really disappointed there’s not an increase in production???? I know some of y’all are stress writers
