As unnecessary sequels go, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (20th Century Studios) earns a well-deserved place near the top of the list. Where the original, released 20 (!) years ago, had iconic lines (“That is all.”) and portrayals (Meryl Streep should have won an Oscar for her performance, as opposed to the undeserved one she received for the abysmal “The Iron Lady”), the sequel is lacking.
Andy (Anne Hathaway, ubiquitous in 2026), having traded the famous cerulean sweater for better duds, is an award-winning newspaper journalist who learns that she and several staff members have lost their jobs due to downsizing. Meanwhile, Andy’s former dragon-lady boss, Miranda (Streep) is embroiled in a scandal at Runway Magazine, and under pressure from publisher Irv (Tibor Feldman) and his son Jay (B.J. Novak) to get it handled. Seemingly out of the blue, Irv calls Andy, having seen her in a viral video, and offers her a job putting out the fire at Runway.
Following the icy reunion between Andy and Miranda (who claims not to remember her), Miranda’s long-suffering gay right-hand-man Nigel (Stanley Tucci, who has made bank playing queer characters in “The Daytrippers,” “Supernova,” and “Burlesque”), welcomes Andy back into the fold. As Andy learns, her former Runway nemesis Emily (Emily Blunt) is now running things at Dior.
Other significant relationships that figure into the movie include Miranda’s new husband, musician Stuart (Kenneth Branagh), Andy’s potential new boyfriend, hot contractor Peter (Patrick Brammall), as well as Emily’s zillionaire boyfriend Benji (Justin Theroux, playing him as giggly and immature as Elon Musk). Additionally, Benji’s pissed off ex-wife Sasha (Lucy Liu), is distributing her divorce settlement like Melinda Gates and MacKenzie Scott combined.
When Andy lands an interview with the reclusive Sasha for Runway, she begins to prove herself invaluable to Miranda. She also writes several feature pieces for the magazine that garner attention. However, just as one dumpster fire is almost extinguished, another one smolders before bursting into flames. These are not the only things that keep Andy working late. A book proposal about Miranda that she pitched to her friend Tessa (Rachel Bloom) on a whim not only sparks interest from a publisher but also the promise of a sizeable advance.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” is a combination of high fashion with thick threads of intrigue sewn into the fabric. Padded with such an overabundance of whiplash-inducing cameos, every movie ticket should come with a Dior neck brace. Unfortunately, there are too many loose threads that appear to be carelessly stitched together. Let’s just hope, for Streep’s sake, there’s not a “Ricki and the Flash 2” in development.
Rating: C
