It’s a rare to discover a blockbuster movie is better than expected, but that’s the case with The Devil Wears Prada 2. It’s not exactly The Godfather 2, but it’s one of the few sequels that outshines the original. I’m not saying it’s a timeless classic of the cinema, merely that it’s sharp, entertaining and surprisingly topical. When one thinks of the luxury-brand trash served up in the Sex in the City movies, it’s clear that director, David Frankel, has set his personal bar a lot higher.
It’s still the story of a high-end fashion magazine, with all the clothes, accessories and celebrity cameos, but there’s a genuine attempt to connect with the Zeitgeist in a way that transcends the gloss and glamour. One can imagine scriptwriter, Aline Brosh McKenna thinking: “What’s the difference between the magazine business in 2006, when the previous film appeared, and today?
The answer is that the glossy magazines have been virtually strangled to death by digital platforms. Publications that were slow to embrace social media and cement their online presence have struggled to survive, no matter how venerable the brand. At the same time, media ownership has fallen into the hands of unscrupulous multi-billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, who will forever be known as the man who gutted one of the world’s most respected newspapers, The Washington Post.