‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ review: Cutting lines and blunt feints at the fashion industry

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is stuffed with throwbacks to its predecessor. After all, it has been two decades since the frumpy Andy (Anne Hathaway) interned at the Vogue-like fashion magazine Runway under its icy editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy survived the ordeal and moved on to “serious” journalism. But like fashions make a comeback, so must a popular movie.

Andy is the most recent victim of a new media landscape characterised by brutal layoffs and consolidations. She finds herself back at Runway. Miranda is displeased, Miranda’s deputy Nigel (Stanley Tucci) less so. They need Andy, since Runway is going through its own crisis. The new boss Jay (BJ Novak), who communicates through Corporatese, wants a less expensive and more nimble outfit.

Miranda’s former assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) is dating the billionaire Benji (Justin Theroux) who might just bail out Runway – and put Miranda out to pasture. Is that necessarily a bad thing, given how terrible Miranda is for self-esteem and how unsuited she seems for a more diverse, digital-first world?

Director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna – both alumni from The Devil Wears Prada – are content to clutch their pearls as long as the necklaces come with a designer tag. The new movie thumps for tradition while...

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