The Devil Wears Prada - 7

If you've ever worked in an office, especially with women (it is just a different sort of politics) you'll get most of the intense competing and climbing at others expense that goes on. This film is based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and follows Andy, a journalism major, who finds herself working for the editor of Runway (read Vogue), a the highest ranked fashion magazine. She works for Miranda who is the snobbiest, but also the standard, for fashion opinions. There is actually a great scene where she explains the importance of fashion in society. The job almost crushes Andy, until she find a friend in Nigel, the fashion design guy. The film then turns to the usual work verses personal life (much like The Weather Man, but in a less depressing way and with less swearing). In the end, she has to decide what it is that she really wants and then pursue it, rather than being forced to live a life that others control. The dialogue is witty and does well to stay between funny and serious. The film even gets somewhat moralistic near the end, which seems odd for Hollywood. Or maybe I just recognized the choices differently? Meryl Streep is excellent, and Anne Hathaway is good as she aspires to be Natalie Portman.