'Devil Wears Prada 2' review: Stitched-together sequel will appeal to fans of original

Fanny packs are in, says a young staffer at Runway, the fashion magazine still ruled by Meryl Streep’s imperious Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada 2." This fictional editor-in-chief is by now so iconic — almost on par with her real-world analogue, Vogue’s Anna Wintour — that we can almost guess her reaction. "May my suicide be brief and painless," she groans.

Then an intern shakes her head censoriously at such triggering language. It’s happened: Miranda Priestly has been HR’ed.

It’s been 20 years since Miranda emotionally brutalized young assistant Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) in "The Devil Wears Prada." The sequel reunites Streep and Hathaway with Emily Blunt (as the prickly Emily Charlton, now a bigwig at Dior) and Stanley Tucci (as Runway’s noble fashion director, Nigel Kipling), all slipping into their old roles like comfy jeans. Also back is the original creative team of director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna. But so much has changed since 2006 that "Prada 2” has trouble striking the right pose. For instance: What to do with a cruel boss like Miranda in this post-DeGeneres world? How to portray New York City’s luxury fashion industry when its socialist mayor is trying to tax the wealthy? What about unhealthy body imagery? And diversity initiatives? And the most basic question: Who reads magazines anymore?

The film chooses its battles. After Runway is duped into writing a false article, it hires Andy, now a globe-hopping journalist, to regain credibility. Nigel hasn't changed ("Look what T.J. Maxx dragged in," he says of her, lovingly), but the magazine's culture has. Protocol says Miranda must now hang up her own coat (cue some deft slapstick from Streep) and budgets demand that she endure the horrors of flying coach. She’s still posh enough to invite celebrities like the composer Jon Batiste to her Hamptons home, though; maybe he’s a friend of her violinist husband (Kenneth Branagh).

Narratively, this movie resembles that fanny pack: overstuffed and shapeless. There are subplots involving a thinly disguised version of MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos (Lucy Liu plays the saintly philanthropist Sasha Barnes, while Justin Theroux plays her doltish ex-husband, Benji Barnes). Some corporate skullduggery unfolds at a Milan fashion show as Lady Gaga belts out “Shape of a Woman.” (Her collaboration with Doechii, “Runway" plays during the closing credits.) The movie even finds time for Peter (Patrick Brammall), a high-end contractor who sells Andy a gorgeous apartment, then dates her.

In the original film, Andy learned about hard work, ambition and her own self-worth. In “Prada 2," it isn't clear what she’s fighting for: Runway’s legacy? A job? The way things used to be? “We’re streamable, we’re in the ether," Nigel gripes of a magazine that was once massive as a museum monograph but now flickers digitally across phone screens. Facing a round of layoffs, though, he stoically keeps working, marking up real photographs with his real red pencil.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com