In New York City, a recent college graduate, named Andrea (or Andy) Sachs, is about to be interviewed to work at a fashion magazine company, which is Runway. However, she has pretty much no knowledge about the fashion industry.

Yet the company’s senior assistant, Emily Charlton, who is British, still hires Andy as a junior personal assistant. But Andy’s job is to stay near the phone at all times and answer it.

At some point, the editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, comes. But she is not very kind, especially to Andy. In fact, she demands a lot from Andy – more than she can even bear.

Not only that, but Andy also struggles to fit in with the other staff due to her wardrobe. In fact, they all make fun of her for her modest top and floral skirt. That includes Emily.

In addition, Miranda continues to pressure her without any empathy. She also misses a flight from Miami because of a hurricane.

That disappoints her since she was supposed to see her daughters perform in a school recital. So, did she decide to put Andy down for it.

Andy goes to Nigel the art director and tells her how she doesn’t like the way she’s being treated. Nigel suggest that she quits. But she doesn’t want to.

Nigel then talks about all the others who worked for Runway, and what they did to impress those around them. This prompts Andy to think outside the box and actually change into an outfit that is more fashionable to everyone else.

Sometime later, Andy’s father comes to visit. He and his daughter have dinner together at a fancy restaurant.

Mr. Sachs is not exactly satisfied with Andy’s career decision. But Andy convinces him why she chose it.

And she becomes more committed to the job. So, Miranda gives her more important tasks.

Andy eventually gets more praise and attention than Emily. However, it causes her path to go downhill.

She and her boyfriend, Nate, get into a fight. But when she snaps at him, he dumps her and thinks she has become shallow and a jerk.

Stakes continue to rise between Andy, and those in her industry. What is that going to lead to?

Since the sequel came out this year, I decided to watch this one. Plus, it has reached its 20th anniversary.

One aspect I admired was setting the story in New York City. Not only did I like to spot what I could recognize in the background (i.e. Rockefeller Center banners), but I also know that New York City is major when it comes to the fashion industry.

I also liked the casting choices for this movie. Anne Hathaway played Andy, Emily Blunt played Emily (funny coincidence), and Meryl Streep played Miranda.

All the characters were memorable and well developed, even if they weren’t very likable. That being said, this film is not without its flaws.

I will admit that the tension levels were a bit too low at times – particularly in the beginning. That really isn’t good. Conflict is what drives the story, and the first several minutes are super important for keeping the audience engaged.

Tension levels did increase later on. And even though Andy was likable and relatable, I did feel that she was too calm during the first several minutes. Sometimes she seemed kind of passive when she had to do what others told her to.

But a bigger drawback was how the story was hard to follow at times. I had to keep looking up the plot to understand what was happening.

A lot of the scenes were also too long. I understand that that’s important. But I wish the film editors found out a way to shorten those parts while keeping every important detail.

Overall, I thought The Devil Wears Prada was just okay. But I have no plans to see the sequel.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.