Autumn is upon us, which means one thing: the resurgence of fall movies. A delicious autumnal feast ranges from the feel-goodies as delightful appetizers to cozy up with to the rom-coms as bountiful main courses filling you up with all that hearty warmth. And finally, there’s the Halloween flick, the last bite of dessert before going to bed with only Freddy Krueger on your mind.
We’ve been blessed with an incredible harvest over the years, but while the season typically has you reaching out for that Hocus Pocus or When Harry Met Sally rewatch, there’s a neglected pumpkin in the harvest’s pile. An overlooked courtier in fall cinema’s royalty. The absolute master of all autumn: The Devil Wears Prada.
Unenlightened naysayers will reduce David Frankel’s masterpiece to “just a rom-com.” But the truth is, The Devil Wears Prada isn’t one meal in that autumn feast, it’s the whole menu.
The Devil Wears Prada is a fall fashion fantasy.
One thing The Devil Wears Prada boasts that many fall movies do not is delicious seasonal fashion. No, we’re not talking cozy knitwear, but actual fashion. The coats. The scarves. The Chanel boots. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) gives it all to us. And that four-minute, Madonna-backed montage of her style glow-up is — dare I say — more autumnal than the trees in Central Park at the moment.
If you’re seeking a little bit of the dark academia aesthetic, look no further than Andy’s head-to-toe Chanel little black dress with the white collar and oh-so-gorgeous D’Orsay pumps. If you’re trying to be more colorful this autumn, her green overcoat with the leopard print collar is waiting for you. If you’re a casual, tote bag-wearing girlie, her iconic brown leather jacket and black turtleneck ensemble demand your attention.
The film is just one giant, glorious fall fashion mood board. And its attention to detail from the hats to the gloves to the accessories just doesn’t exist in other autumn-coded films.
The Devil Wears Prada is the best rom-com out there.
Is Nate kind of annoying? Yes, absolutely. But is Andy’s multi-faceted trail of romance — from the average Brooklyn beau to the euphoric excitement of a Parisian one-night stand — everything that a rom-com should be? Yes, yes it is.
Watching Andy gracefully become this season’s bachelorette with Nate (Adrian Grenier) and Christian Thompson (Simon Baker) as dual contenders for her affection is beyond entertaining. It’s scandalous. It’s character-defining. And it’ll have you rooting for one bachelor over the other. That being said, every rom-com heroine needs her slump. And The Devil Wears Prada is equal parts heartbreak as it is love, with a single Andy left questioning everything she’s lost because of her job.
One can even argue that the “rom” in The Devil Wears Prada entirely stems from Andy’s evolved friendship with Emily (Emily Blunt). From mutual aversion to becoming each other’s trusted confidantes in the ruthless world of high fashion, Emily and Andy’s enemy-to-friends pipeline deserves so much more hype. And the feminine adoration grounded in this film is worthy of all the rom-com praise in its own right.
The Devil Wears Prada is a Halloween movie.
What makes a creature feature? A terrifying monster at the heart of all mishaps. A monster that’s not from this world. A monster that makes itself seen by any means necessary.
Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is all of these things.
She’s the film’s main antagonist, who delightfully relishes in the bemusing of a poor Andy. She, despite seeming like your typical bourgeois New Yorker, is not actually from this world. No, no, Miranda comes from a world of exclusivity that everyday plebeians like myself will never know. Just look at how everyone shakes and quivers whenever she enters any space. Can your average person command such power and incite such fear? She is truly the devil (who wears Prada).
She also boasts a titular characteristic to a creature in any feature — a signifying sound. While the alien in Predator clicks and clacks whenever it’s around, you know Miranda is near whenever Andy gets a phone call. That dreadful ringtone. That ta-na-na-na-na. It’s almost like knives scraping against a wall. Hide your poorly dressed children, Miranda is here.
It’s high time The Devil Wears Prada gets its recognition as the supreme fall movie. In its one-hour and 49-minute runtime, it gives us everything we can possibly wish for from this season. With love, scares, overcoats, and more, it’s time to release yourself from the shackles of When Harry Met Sally and embrace this genre-less masterpiece of autumn cinema. Excuse me, Billy Crystal, a white knitted sweater for fall? Groundbreaking.
How to watch: The Devil Wears Prada is now streaming on Peacock.
