Agreatadaptationofanalrightbook

　　Forthepastmonthorso,Ihavebeeneagerlyawaitingthismovie.IloveMerylStreep,IlikeAnneHathaway,Ithoughtheworldofmagazinepublishingcouldmakeagreatsettingforamovie,andIthoughtthepremiseofthebook'TheDevilWearsPrada'hadalotofmoviepotential.So,nowthatI'veseenit,IhavetosayitisoneofthefunniestmoviesI'veseenthisyear.Thescreenwriterhasmaintainedeverythingthatwasfunnyaboutthebook,aswellaschuckedalotofthedullersubplots,andhasformulatedamoviethatisagreatdealmoreenjoyablethanthebook.

　　I'msureyou'reallfamiliarwiththebasicpremise-naivesmall-towngirlcomestothebigcityhopingtobeajournalist,andgetsajobasassistanttoMirandaPriestly,themuch-fearededitorof'Runway'magazine(athinlyveiledtakeon'Vogue'magazine,anditseditor).Thankfully,thecastwasalmostperfect(thoughIdidthinkSimonBakerwassomewhatmiscastattherakishwriterwhotakesalikingtotheprotagonist,Andrea),andelevatedthemovietoalevelitwouldnothaveotherwisereached.

　　MerylStreepisabsolutelyamazingasMirandaPriestly,andIespeciallylikedthewaythat,asMiranda,sheneverraisedhervoiceabovenormalspeakinglevel.StreephassaidshebasedthismannerismonClintEastwood,whoasDirtyHarrytalksveryquietlybutstillintimidates.ThismadeMirandamuchmoreinterestingthanthestereotypical,screaminggorgonshecouldhavebecome.Sheiscertainlythebestthingaboutthismovie,andIthinktheoddsaregoodthatshe'llscoreabest-actressnodatthenextOscars.Mirandaisalsomademorecomplex(andslightlymoresympathetic)thaninthebook,whichIthoughtwasverygood.Inthebook,whichIrecentlyread,theauthor(whoactuallyworkedasanassistantto'Vogue'editorAnnaWintour)wasverybitterandwhinyaboutthedifficultiesofherformerjob,andshemadeMirandaouttobeatotallytwo-dimensionalvillainwithabsolutelynoredeemingqualities.However,themovieshowsus(briefly)adifferentsideofMiranda-weseethecompromisesshehashadtomaketogettothetop,andweseethetollthishastakenonherpersonallife.Wearen'tmadetoagreewithherdiva-likebehaviour,butwecanunderstandhowhardherlifemustbe.

　　IalsothoughtthatAnneHathawaywasveryappealinginherrole-shemadeAndreamorelikableandlesssnobbishthanshewasinthebook(althoughthescreenwriterdeservescreditforthat,aswell),andshelookedgreatinthecouturesheworethroughmostofthemovie.

　　Thesupportingplayerswerealsoverygood,especiallyEmilyBlunt(asAndrea'scausticfellowassistant,Emily)andStanleyTucci(asMiranda'sloyalbutbeleagueredright-handman,Nigel).Onmanyoccasions,theystolescenesfromtheostensibly'central'characterofAndrea.

　　Themovie,whilemaintainingthebook'spremise,doesnotfollowthebooktooclosely,whichIliked.Theentire'Lily'subplotfromthebookiseliminated(readersofthebookwillknowwhatImean),andAndrea'sparentsandboyfriendarelesssignificantinthemoviethaninthebook.Iagreedwiththesechanges,though-Ifoundthoseaspectsofthebooktobequiteboring,andtheiromissionmadeforamorestreamlinedmovie.

　　Istronglyrecommendthismovietovirtuallyanyone,andIjusthope"TheNannyDiaries"(anothersomewhat-similar'chicklit'movieadaptation,comingoutsoonwithScarlettJohannson,thatIameagerlyawai