The Devil Wears Prada

Wow, it's been a good few days for trailers. The Devil Wears Prada, World Trade Center, The King - three genuinely surprising and excellent trailers. I'll stick with the one that I expected the least to like. I had heard about the book; fashiony chick-lit, written by a woman who worked at vogue for a while. It sounded like a book about a bunch of nasty girls writing about expensive clothes, saying nasty things about each other, and one nice girl getting picked on, and at the end she probably tells everyone off and makes them feel bad before storming out onto the street and hailing a cab with a big smile on her face, ready to conquer the world. A song starts, the camera cranes up, and the credits roll. I'll put a five spot on that.

It's the ultimate movie to make a bad trailer for too - some snappy pop soundtrack, the same narrator as every other chick flick trailer, a quick montage of pretty faces, a hot boy, maybe two seconds where they cut the music and make a joke about bodily functions, cut to title which is enthusiastically read by the announcer, the end.

Instead, we've got something different. The trailer is coherent. It has a narrative. The entire first minute is entirely without music, the entire trailer is without snappy text or jumpy cuts. The music comes on, not pop, not some new alt-country-metal-jazz that the kids like these days, but a simple plucked double bass and some percussion. The story (gasp!) continues over the music, still no narrator, still no montage - and over some snazzy guitars, Meryl Streep arrives. 40 seconds after the music started, it stops, and that's it for the trailer. The makers of this trailer decide to rely on the strength of their material to make this a good trailer - and holy moses it is.

Everyone is great in this trailer, but special honors go to Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. Stanley Tucci is playing the same gay fashionista who appears in every single movie or TV show about fashion, but something about his giant black collar, round glasses, creased and expressive face and the way he hides and says "who is this?" is just excellent. I want to see more of him.
Meryl Streep - well, they are lucky she is as good as she is. This whole movie will turn on whether or not she embodies that utter bitch of a boss she's supposed to play, and my god does she do it. She is perfect and wonderful to watch - ever line, every look, every gesture. A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Superman trailer and how much I liked Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor - he was magnetic and charismatic and the fact that he was evil was a big part of his appeal. Meryl Streep's character is the same way. She's cold and mean and unforgiving, and I just want to see more. I want to see a spin-off TV show where she just sits at her desk and tells various people why they suck for half an hour. I want to see this movie.

I love the downer ending this trailer has. It's just great to see the hopeful young girl get shut out and turned away after all that buildup. Stanley Tucci makes a snide remark, and that's that. Brilliant.

One pet peve. Anne Hathaway has the "stand up in your seat and cheer, girls" line: "Um, you're right. I don't fit in here. I'm not skinny, or glamorous, but I'm smart. I learn fast, and I will work very hard." It's probably right from the book, but it just doesn't work here. While she may not be playing a glamorous character, Ann Hathaway is not only a strikingly beautiful woman, she has the most glamorous name I think I've ever heard. Not skinny? Look at this picture.

Beware, boys and girls - this is the new face of fat.

Why does the main character of a chick flick always have to pretend like she's ugly when clearly she's a gorgeous movie star?