movie review the devil wears prada

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Parents' guide to, the devil wears prada.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 12 Reviews
Kids Say 60 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Fun, frothy fashion tale has cursing and sex.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

All about high fashion (names dropped and shown include Prada, Pucci, Gucci, Cal

Occasional profanity: "S--t," "A--holes." Some references made to sex.

Social drinking at parties and restaurants; Andi drinks wine at home and gets ti

Some sexual allusions ("I can think of something we can do that doesn't require

Girl hit by taxi flies over hood to the street, ends up in hospital with bruised

Any Positive Content?

The importance of being true to yourself and not being seduced by glamour, statu

Both arrogant and insecure, fashionistas lie and betray one another; lead charac

Parents need to know that The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 movie about an aspiring journalist who moves to New York and lands what many would consider to be a dream job: working as an assistant to the editor-in-chief of the world's premiere fashion magazine. But she finds out that the editor also has a reputation for being a demanding perfectionist who can be quite vicious when her high standards are not met. The movie features cruel judgments about body size and fashion. Characters are materialistic and catty (usually as comedy, though some hurtful comments are also made). Characters use moderate language ("s--t") and drink alcohol. Lots of mentions of high-end fashion brands. Andi has sex with a writer on their first date (after admitting she's drunk), then regrets it. Younger kids won't be interested, since the subject matter won't mean anything to them. The movie could inspire discussion about how women in positions of power are perceived differently than men -- a point Andi makes toward the movie's end.

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Products & Purchases

All about high fashion (names dropped and shown include Prada, Pucci, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Bill Blass, Chloé, Marc Jacobs); plot-pointed references to Starbucks, characters use Apple computers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Social drinking at parties and restaurants; Andi drinks wine at home and gets tipsy on a date.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Some sexual allusions ("I can think of something we can do that doesn't require any clothing"); Andi has sex with a writer on their first date (after admitting she's drunk), then regrets it.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Girl hit by taxi flies over hood to the street, ends up in hospital with bruised face and broken leg.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The importance of being true to yourself and not being seduced by glamour, status, money. The importance of knowing when to focus on career and when to focus on relationships, and the necessity of finding that balance.

Positive Role Models

Both arrogant and insecure, fashionistas lie and betray one another; lead character loses but regains her moral compass.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (12)
Kids say (60)

Based on 12 parent reviews

Really good movie. Very witty, fashion inspired romantic comedy.

What's the story.

In THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, socially conscious journalism major Andi ( Anne Hathaway ) takes a job at Runway fashion magazine as second assistant to ruthless editor Miranda ( Meryl Streep ). Andi is told repeatedly that if she survives a year, she'll be able to get a job at any magazine, but has no idea how tough her year will be: Her primary jobs are fetching coffee and outfits from various designers around town, and running personal errands for Miranda. Andi is also at the beck and call of first assistant Emily ( Emily Blunt ). Worse, she's reminded daily that her clothes are ugly and that she's "fat" (at size six). Art director Nigel ( Stanley Tucci ) gives Andi a makeover and Andi devotes herself to pleasing Miranda, leaving her live-in boyfriend Nate ( Adrian Grenier ) and best friend Lilly (Tracie Thoms) feeling abandoned. But even as she's seduced by a cynical writer ( Simon Baker ) and enticed by the sense of power the fashion folks claim for themselves, Andi never loses her moral sensibility.

Is It Any Good?

Sometimes over the top and sometimes sentimental, Prada is most notable for Meryl Streep's remarkably subtle performance as super-diva Miranda Priestly. While the movie loves its costumes and montages (often together), the plot is creaky and the target far too easy: Everyone knows the world of haute couture is cutthroat, imperious, and lurid.

Streep's Miranda is complex and compelling. Though her outfits and superciliousness are as outrageous as everyone else's, Miranda tends to speak quickly and quietly, to assume her supremacy even as she's vulnerable. Fashion-loving teens are likely to enjoy this frothy tale.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Andi's plan to use her assistant job as a route to becoming a journalist: How does she rationalize this choice? How does Andi learn to fit into the world of high fashion by wearing the right clothes, dieting, and becoming increasingly judgmental of others? What messages does the movie send about the importance of physical appearances?

Toward the end of the movie, Andi makes the argument that Miranda would be treated differently by our society had she been a man; where a tough and demanding male boss is seen to be strong and in control, similar qualities in a female boss are couched in labels like "ice queen" and "dragon lady." Do you think this opinion is accurate? Would Miranda be perceived differently if she had been a man?

This movie was based on a best-selling novel . What do you think would be the challenges in adapting a novel like this into a movie?

Movie Details

In theaters : June 29, 2006
On DVD or streaming : December 12, 2006
Cast : Adrian Grenier , Anne Hathaway , Meryl Streep
Director : David Frankel
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
Genre : Comedy
Run time : 106 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : some sensuality
Last updated : September 8, 2024

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

The Devil Wears Prada Review

05 Oct 2006

109 minutes

Devil Wears Prada, The

It looks like a chick flick, dresses** **like a chick flick and name-checks a fashion house in its title, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is the long-rumoured Sex And The City movie — and the presence of sometime SATC director David Frankel at the helm would suggest you’re right. But under the to-die-for threads of The Devil Wears Prada lurks a career-minded morality tale, wherein the gender of the two leads is of little importance — except that male stars would do themselves an injury in heels this high.

While the traditional girly movie sees some allegedly frumpy but really foxy starlet make eyes at an unattainable babe-magnet before realising she loves her best guy mate, this focuses on the oft-overlooked question of what our heroine actually does for a living. Hence this leading lady lives in a credibly small and grungy apartment, dresses badly and seems to be unacquainted with either Max Factor or Estée Lauder. There are dishy men around — Entourage’s Adrian Grenier as her long-suffering boyfriend and Simon Baker as a predatory writer — but they’re window-dressing for an altogether more businesslike tale.

Andy’s story is about getting her foot on the career ladder, a familiar goal even for those who haven’t gone through the meat-grinder of media recruitment. But her starter job as junior assistant to Runway magazine editor Miranda Priestly soon sees her life being made over along with her wardrobe. In the lead, Anne Hathaway continues her transition from cheery and freshfaced child star to cheery and freshfaced but accomplished adult actress (see also Havoc, reviewed this issue), with a down-to-Earth charm that draws inevitable comparisons to a young Julia Roberts. But, come next March, it will be Meryl Streep who receives her umpteenth Oscar nod for her role as the deliciously nasty Priestly.

In the slave-and-tell novel on which the film is based, Priestly is an unkind caricature, allegedly based on legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Streep, however, manages the formidable task of giving her capricious tyrant some humanity without diluting her essential awfulness. Speaking in a soft, almost seductive monotone, she tears strips out of her assistants and withers unlucky editors with a glance — all while retaining a strange, charismatic hold over all around her. Soon her malign influence begins to warp her newest assistant, until Andy too finds herself adopting the values of her Mephistophelean mentor. Miranda’s credo may be “fashion is fabulous” rather than “greed is good”, but make no mistake — this is Gordon Gekko with better hair.

It’s left to two other Runway employees to do the film’s comedic heavy-lifting. The ever-dependable Stanley Tucci injects pathos into an underwritten part as the very camp and extremely shrewd art editor Nigel, Miranda’s right-hand man. But it’s relative newcomer Emily Blunt (My Summer Of Love) who very nearly steals the film as Miranda’s senior assistant Emily, veering brilliantly between Miranda-lite bitchery and moments of real despair (admittedly, despair that is occasioned by the threat of taking away her couture , but it’s real nevertheless).

From New York high society to Paris Fashion Week, the combination of low comedy and high fashion works beautifully. There are plot elements and the odd line that seem forced or formulaic, but the overall impression is fresh and stylish — an autumn/winter show that’s worth a look, even for the sartorially-challenged.

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The Devil Wears Prada Reviews

When you think of the final years of Fox before the Disney acquisition, The Devil Wears Prada is one of the standout films--they don't make them like they used to.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 30, 2021

If looks can truly kill, Meryl Streep's Miranda may very well be the fashion industry's most notorious serial killer.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 6, 2020

This one goes out to anyone suffering the whims of a tyrannical employer. For you, this will be so much more than a fun, fashion-conscious comedy. It will be therapy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 11, 2020

The film ultimately fails because it lacks the sharpness needed to make a successful satire. Who would have thought that a comedy about models could suffer from being too nice?

Full Review | Original Score: C | Nov 20, 2019

It's Meryl's movie, everyone says, and in a way it is. She gives a furiously funny performance as a furiously nasty bit of work... But, as I said earlier, scenes without her suffer horribly.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2018

There isn't anything unexpected here; it's the usual clichés: women are nasty cows who blithely undercut each other for jobs, and men are largely irrelevant to the process. . .

Full Review | Aug 23, 2017

We continue to reflect on the movie's lessons long after the laughs have diminished because they are sound, relevant and conveyed by the talents of actors who offer legitimate stakes in the material.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 22, 2016

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 9, 2011

Nimbly assembled and tartly performed

Full Review | Aug 30, 2009

An ironic measure of the film's research into the fashion-mag scene is the fact that there's almost no journalism in it.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2009

Just another formula mediocre dramedy...

Full Review | Apr 29, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 7, 2008

There are some must-have luxuries here, first of which is Meryl Streep's fascinating performance as the fearsome Miranda Priestly.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 27, 2008

An agreeably shallow comedy.

Full Review | May 27, 2008

The Devil Wears Prada isn't a brilliant film, but it certainly is an entertaining one.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 28, 2008

An ideal movie for DVD: you can pick and choose moments and lines to revisit while ignoring, or trying to ignore, the thematic compromises, hectoring impulses, and structural handicaps that start to engulf the film.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Aug 4, 2007

Streep is a far better reason to see "The Devil Wears Prada" than the movie itself.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 30, 2007

It's to the film's credit that I still found it an enjoyable satire, as glossy and superficial as the industry it purports to skewer.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 14, 2007

The story itself falls too frequently into the standard cliches of the awkward-girl-turns-into-a-swan-thanks-to-an-unexpected-fairy-godmother formula.

Full Review | Jul 10, 2007

Funciona por el talento de sus actrices, por lo inteligente de su guión y por no pretender ser nada fuera de lo común. Fue una de las sorpresas del año pasado y con justa razón.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 6, 2007