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| re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) | |
| Last Edit: mikem 01:48 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
| Posted by: mikem 01:40 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
| In reply to: re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) - Delvino 11:39 am EDT 07/29/22 | |
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| (spoilers for the movie) This is an extremely good point, which is that part of the reason why the film is so good is that Streep is NOT the villain in the typical sense. I have watched the film A LOT (or rather, I have watched the scenes that Streep is in a lot -- the boyfriend stuff is bland and uninspired). The book apparently has more of a Boss from Hell slant, but Streep's Miranda Priestly, despite plenty of bad behavior, is a different kind of Devil, the Devil of Temptation. She's difficult and condescending, but she also shows Hathaway a glamorous exciting life that Hathaway can also be a part of, if Hathaway is willing to follow the path Temptation is laying out for her. Streep also makes it unapologetically clear from the outset what the situation is. Streep has no actual hold over Hathaway, who could walk away whenever she wanted; Streep only has the power that Hathaway gives her. I think the only time Streep is truly malicious is around the impossible Harry Potter task (and the steak lunch around that task), but I think it's also clear that Streep purposely gave Hathaway an impossible task to get her to quit. As you're saying, Hathaway is largely the Everywoman Blank Slate. Streep's character is much more nuanced and complex than Hathaway's. The film also does a great job with Emily Blunt's character, who is very condescending but never undermines Hathaway in any way. Something that is much rarer than it should be in commercial mainstream films is that you have 3 prominent female characters in the workplace who are NOT rivals or pitted against each other. None of them stab each other in the back (well, until one of them does...). But the battle for Hathaway's soul is largely an internal one. I think the film does a great job in showing that battle, but it may be harder to show on stage, especially if the score isn't helping us understand the characters' inner thoughts. |
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| re: that's a great analysis of the movie n/m | |
| Posted by: Guillaume 10:26 pm EDT 07/30/22 | |
| In reply to: re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) - mikem 01:40 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
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| re: that's a great analysis of the movie n/m | |
| Posted by: mikem 01:12 pm EDT 08/03/22 | |
| In reply to: re: that's a great analysis of the movie n/m - Guillaume 10:26 pm EDT 07/30/22 | |
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| Guillaume, thank you for saying that! The book contains none of what happens in Paris, so Aline Brosh McKenna, the screenwriter, really elevated the material. The cerulean sweater speech also comes completely from the screenwriter. The Devil Wears Prada joins other movies like Shutter Island and Crazy Rich Asians where key scenes are not in the source novel at all. Fortunately, it appears that the musical follows the plot of the movie rather than the book. |
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| re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 02:54 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
| In reply to: re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) - mikem 01:40 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
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| In the musical, Emily Blunt's character is turned into a cross between an annoying sorority girl and a goofball. An odd choice, but no more odd than the fact that her big number has a Country Western sound. | |
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| re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) | |
| Posted by: mikem 05:28 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
| In reply to: re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) - PlazaBoy 02:54 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
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| Boy, that's disappointing and another indication that the creative team is off track. The Emily Blunt character doesn't have to be British (the character was conceived as American and only became British because Emily Blunt is British), but she has to have some degree of sophistication. She fits into the fashion world, and the movie wisely does not set her up to be deserving of a fall. Blunt's character can be mean and we're not exactly rooting for her, but she's a good employee. Just not as good an employee as Hathaway is. It sounds like her character in the musical is irritating and superficial, which seems like a wrong choice in what sounds like a musical full of wrong choices. It also undermines Miranda's business acumen a bit if Emily is portrayed that way -- in a business that's all about relationships, why does Miranda have a long-ish term employee who is her public face, so to speak, who is superficial and annoying? | |
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| re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 05:45 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
| In reply to: re: The Devil Wears Prada – Chicago preview (Spoilers and opinions) - mikem 05:28 pm EDT 07/29/22 | |
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| You hit the nail on the head. Superficial and annoying is the way the character is drawn in the musical. Sophistication has been dropped entirely, as well as the idea of her being a hard worker. | |
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