The Peanut Gallery Reviews The Devil Wears Prada 2
- Sheehan Planas-Arteaga
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
The Devil Wears Prada 2 delivers on most fronts.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 was released in theaters on 5/1/26
Those of you who played high school sports might get this analogy. Sequels, especially those with a sizable gap between films, are like high school alumni games. Some guys have stayed in shape and can still look the part on the field, while others, well, they left that life completely behind once they hung ‘em up. I worried The Devil Wears Prada 2 might have a few players who couldn’t quite get it done in the same roles like they used to (no shame after 20 years of not embodying the characters). Thankfully, this was not the case. All returning cast members looked great and even added interesting new layers to their characters. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a very good sequel.
SOME MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
What Went Right
The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees most of our heroes in similar positions to where we left them. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is still in charge of Runway, with Nigel (Stanley Tucci) ever at her side. Andrea (Anne Hathaway) is a badass journalist like she always wanted to be, and is still close friends with Lily (Tracie Thomas). Emily (Emily Blunt) has moved on but still works in fashion, and as you soon find out, the power dynamic between her and Miranda has shifted now that she’s no longer working at Runway. Nate (Adrian Grenier) did not return due to so many fans disliking his character.
It’s nice for the audience to not have to be caught up too much, so these choices work. The story hits the ground running and gets into the main conflict quickly, which sees Andrea once again working under Miranda, though this time Miranda finds herself in a far more precarious situation.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 also does a nice job with the callbacks to the original. It’s always a balancing act for sequels when it comes to fan service. You can’t just recycle every famous line and expect the audience to eat it up like they used to. But you also have to throw them a bone once in a while. This film hits the mark here, and there are tons of Easter eggs for you to look out for.
There are a lot of cameos, as is the case with seemingly all big sequels. Unlike in a movie like Happy Gilmore 2, however, where there were such an extreme amount of cameos by non-actors that it felt like a middle school play, the celebrities playing themselves in Devil Wears Prada 2 hold their own alongside our Academy Awards winners. The newcomers (Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Caleb Hearon, B.J. Novak, Patrick Bramall, Simone Ashley, and Helen J. Shen were some of the main ones) also slid right into this world without a hitch. Each of them played a distinct role that served the plot. Extra props for Justin Theroux, who looked to be having an absolute ball playing an idiot genius billionaire.
The plot and pacing went mostly right, but that leads me to the next section.
What Could’ve Been Better
I thought the first act did a phenomenal job setting things up in a way that didn’t feel rushed or far-fetched. Big business and a changing consumer climate are the villains. Can Miranda adjust with the times now that she has Andrea by her side again? It all made sense. Then the second act rolled along and things got bloated.
There’s a lot of zigging and zagging in The Devil Wears Prada 2. This is the bad guy, no this is the bad guy, no no no, THIS is the bad guy. Several characters take turns being Miranda and Andrea’s main nemesis, all within half an hour or so; at least that’s what it felt like. Make sure you follow along and don’t get whiplash in this movie.
Another thing I found less than stellar was how helpless Miranda was most of the time. From the very beginning we find her in a compromising position, seemingly at a crossroads between holding onto her crown or being put out to pasture. Although she is still the steely, demanding head honcho of the Runway magazine, we meet some of her new and old superiors who simply have their way with her. Do this, do that, or you’re gone. It was quite a departure from the character we met in the first film, who outdueled anyone who dared cross her. This new Miranda is seemingly okay admitting defeat. Only a deus ex machina, in this case a reclusive billionaire who Andrea miraculously brokers an interview with, is able to save her.
Perhaps this was done intentionally? A way for Andrea to finally stand on equal footing with the wounded elephant in Miranda? It felt off. They shouldn’t have made her lose so much on her fastball.
Good, Not Great
In terms of sequels with big gaps between them, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is one of the good ones. It’s certainly not a Top Gun: Maverick, but it’s miles ahead of a Zoolander 2. Some frenetic sequences and odd choices for the matriarch of Runway magazine are what held it back for me, but I had a good time watching this movie. The ending is lovely, all the actors bring their A-games, and obviously the style is top notch.
That’s all.
Comments