Most of us grew up on The Devil Wears Prada, right?
Like, who didn’t sit in front of the telly when it was RTÉ’s Midweek Movie and fantasise about moving to New York to be Anne Hathaway’s Andy?
I first watched it on DVD while babysitting when I was 13 and have seen it approximately nine million times since.
I’d dream of wearing cast-off Chanel from the fashion cupboard at work, cutting a fringe and eating food cooked for me by Nate, Andy’s scruffy other half.
It all felt super grown up and very glamorous.
OK, the workplace bullying and Emily Blunt’s character’s unhealthy relationship with food were a little fucked up, but we all knew that. It meant we’d know what to be wary of once we grew up and went to work at a high-end fashion publication.
Anyway, the point I’m making is that my generation couldn’t have loved DWP (as I think true fans are entitled to call it) any more back in the day but as adults, its messages are a little difficult to swallow.
That sentiment has been summed up in a tweet that went viral this week.
watching devil wears prada at 17:
– her bf is right & a chef! cool
– miranda is a bitch
– writer guy seems cool
– fashion is cool
watching devil wears prada at 29:
– fuck her bf & friends
– grilled cheese is burnt, can’t cook
– writer guy is a predator
– lol fashion is dying— pelin (@meat_and_rice) August 12, 2018
Now that we’re grown-ups, we know that Andy’s boyfriend and friends should have been sounder and more supportive when she had to put in long hours at work.
We’re also able to identify that Christian the writer was a complete sleaze. Not to mention, we’re all too aware that the type of conditions that Andy had to work under (plus the fact she had to change her appearance) shouldn’t be written off as ‘par for the course’ in any job, even if it is fashion.
Re-watching any movie you enjoyed in your formative years as an adult is always dangerous (I’ll never not regret watching The Breakfast Club for a second time) but this tweet really drove home how messed up DWP is.
I mean, I’ll absolutely be watching it again when it comes on at Christmas, obvs, but it really won’t be the same.
