Entry number one

[original post: Jul.04.2006]

So here I am, starting a live journal (now Blogspot). Why, you may ask?... well, it's not RESEARCH. And more specifically, it doesn't have to do with AUTISM. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against autism, but I am inundated by it forty hours a week. Enough is enough.

So.... a blank canvas. It's so rare that I actually get to write whateverthehell I want, with no need to reference anything! This is what it must feel like to work for Fox News.

All right, got it - here's something I can write about.. Last night, the Planeteers and I went to see The Devil Wears Prada, which was the gayest movie we could've gone out to see, next to Superman Returns, of course.

Here is my review of the film. If you plan to see The Devil Wears Prada, STOP READING.

The Devil Wears Prada (2.5 stars)

The Devil Wears Prada opens with the fast-paced bravado of New York City. Espresso machines whur, taxicabs honk incessantly, highheels tapdance on the metropolitan pavement. Didn't you too want to be a 24-year-old girl in New York city, starting a new life? I know I did.

Anne Hathaway plays Andy Sachs, a wide-eyed midwesterner with aspirations of working as a writer for a major publication. She's got an undergraduate résumé to be reckoned with, a decidedly boring yet supportive boyfriend to support her, and a host of no-name friends for encouragement. She's still got the remnants of a 'princess diaries' tiara on her crown, but we bear it no mind. She is a marketable young woman who has recently shed the likes of Disney for the big time, Rupert Murdoch.

She interviews for a high-prestige job as the assistant to the assistant to Miranda Priestly, editor in chief of 'Runway' magazine, the be all and end all of making or breaking the fashion industry and its dossier of players. Enter Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep), the ultra-high maintenance EIC who runs the publication with an iron fist, a tepid tongue, and a disapproving glance sure to turn the onlooker to ice. She knows fashion, demands perfection, and yet the audience knows that there must be more to this character. The light-spirited frivolity of the narrative suggests that Priestly is not Cruella DeVille, but something of an impromtu mentor to Andy. I mean, the film can't be all about a bitch job and nothing else, right?

Both Streep and Emily Blunt, who plays Emily, the first assistant, are orchestrated with a delicate balance that evokes our laughter at their utter pretension, yet we are not turned off by them. They are not overtly manipulative or shady, just seemingly shallow with a rough sarcastic edge. Blunt's British accent only fuels the laughter. Stanley Tucci plays gay PA Nigel (is it possible to be straight with the name Nigel?) as the equally catty yet motherly voice of reassuarance to Andy. The characters dance well together, giving and taking, so we never feel turned off by what we see. The characters are relatable, and I'm sure we've seen snippets of them in our various occupations.

I enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, and laughed throughout. Where the film veered seemed to be its unfinished resolution of the flamboyant scenario that had taken three-fourths of the film to set up. Andy walks off the job, finds another, and Priestly recommends her, much to her surprise, but not to ours. Is that it? Was Priestly's master plan to attract and drive away assistants in masses with a final realization that yes indeed, she (Priestly) is a bitch, but life is a bitch and how well you succeed is dependant on how well you can adapt? Priestly's character is too interesting to leave it at that.

There is a candid scene where Priestly makes arrangements with Andy to handle her pending divorce. She is out of her fashionable garb and makeup, revealing a softer, more human vulnerability. The narrative opened up her character, then shut the door as fast as it was opened with her signature line, 'that's all'. I feel we as the audience missed out on seeing her character expanded, possibly connecting with Andy. Instead we get a fax of recommendation to Andy's new employer with Priestly flashing an enlightened smile as her limo drives off. Was that it? It seemed to be a bit of a cop-out, popcorn ending. The characters are so good here, let them fly.