As a more or less decent chic-flick, the devil wears prada is a movie you won't mind seeing but also won't mind never seeing again. It is easy to bond with Andy (Anne Hathaway), a shy girl fresh out of college, pursuing her dream to become a journalist. Climbing the career ladder is never pretty, however, especially at Runway Magazine, the premiere fashion magazine centered in the make-it-or-break-it heart of New York City. Editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is known as a boss more brutal, cruel, and strict than Cruella de Ville. With dowdy fashion sense and a timid puppy-dog personality, Andy is verbally skinned alive by her stiletto-strutting co-workers and her cut-throat boss. In time, her look goes from glab to fab and she learns the ins and outs of Runway, but will her job take her away from her friends and her boyfriend?

With such a cliche premise, the devil wears prada surprisingly works with the storyline and delivers a plot that is both comic and entertaining, but it does so at the cost of a clear message. You will gasp and laugh at Miranda's cruel antics, and you will want to wring her neck. On the other hand, the movie also wants you to sympathize with her, showing her personal life and her softer side. By the end, we are unsure whether the movie wants us to see Miranda as nice or not - or both.

Moreover, the movie awkwardly parallels Andy's climb in the workplace with her fashion sense. There's nothing wrong in wanting to look stylish and keeping in touch with your personal tastes, but the story cuts on the cliche "be yourself" too closely. It doesn't acknolwedge the possibility that you can "be yourself" yet be fashionable at the same time. There's nothing wrong with being beautiful, inside and out.

Though a few plot threads are left unfinished, the jokes are spot on and you will chuckle your way through the movie. Take the movie like Mean Girls. Sure, the story uses some cliche devices but it uses them genuinely and to its fullest effect. Its message, though not clear, is presented interestingly enough to walk the red carpet in style. You just won't need to watch the movie again. You can only walk down the red carpet in the same outfit once.

Score: 6.8/10 (B)

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	Genj - July 06, 2006 (07:53 PM) You should have watched Garden State instead.