KateLyn Dougan

Tonya Schauwecker

ENGL:1130:665

8 February 2024

Money vs Happiness

The comedy-drama, “The Devil Wears Prada,” was brought to theaters in 2006.

The cast consisted of empowering women such as Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and

Emily Blunt. David Frankel is the director of this inspiring film, and many believe that

“The Devil Wears Prada” is based on a true story due to social media conspiracies, but

Frankle has confirmed that it is not. The film makes viewers rethink many decisions

made about their careers and life goals.

The movie starts out featuring Andrea or “Andy,” played by Anne Hathaway, an

aspiring journalist looking to have her big break in New York. She is fresh out of

Northwestern University, living with her boyfriend in a tiny apartment building. As she

does not have much money to support herself, she starts applying for many jobs, just

hoping to have a callback. As many are surprised, Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief of

Runway Magazine invites Andy in for an interview. She is not familiar with the world of

fashion and does not know who Miranda Priestly is. Come to find out, when she comes in

for the interview she runs into Miranda Priestly's first assistant, Emily, who had just been

promoted to first assistant because of the recent firing of the previous first assistant.

Emily recognizes that Andy has no sense of fashion, which would eventually lead her to

believe that she is not fit for this job. Miranda then calls Andy into her private office and
looks at her oddly. She also believes that Andy will not survive in the fashion world but

decides to hire her anyway.

As Andy’s career is taking off, she starts to see why others before her have been

fired. Miranda is the boss from hell. Her assistants do all her dirty work, errands, and

favors, and do not receive any recognition for it. Miranda reminds Andy and Emily every

day that many girls would kill for this job, which leads Andy to believe that she will do

whatever Miranda tells her to do to prove to her that she is the best assistant she will ever

have.

Andy works day and night to fulfill Miranda's needs, she even finds a way to

acquire a copy of a manuscript of the upcoming Harry Potter book for Miranda's twin

daughters. As the movie continues, Andy finds herself attending fashion events, making

friends with the “upper class,” and even distancing herself from her friends. With

everything Andy has on her plate, she has no time for anything else but work. She even

missed her boyfriend's birthday because she was busy with her workload. She does not

realize the distance she is putting between herself and her friends until her best friend

calls her out on it. She is told on multiple occasions that this job is killing her and that

something needs to be done about it, but she believes that she needs to fulfill her journey

and finish what she started.

As the end approaches, Andy and her boyfriend argue and fight because he thinks

that she does not have any time for him. They then break up and Andy is devastated.

After attending fashion events with Miranda, Andy keeps running into the same guy, a

designer named Simon. He flirts with her throughout the entire movie but only succeeds

at the end when Miranda, Emily, and Andy attend a dinner in Paris. He then grabs her
attention and Andy finally lets him in. They spend a night together in his apartment, but

when Andy wakes up late, she sees a magazine cover sitting under one of Simon’s bags.

She sees that Miranda’s name is not on the cover, it is Jacqueline Follet’s name. She then

questions Simon about this, and he tells her that they are planning to replace Miranda.

This was a surprise to Andy, and she quickly rushed to call Miranda. After many missed

calls and texts, she shows up at Miranda’s hotel room. Andy is not let in and misses her

chance to tell Miranda the big news.

Later that evening, everyone from the company and others attends a banquet,

where Miranda gives a speech about who will be the upcoming creative director. The plan

is to give the job to Nigel, a man who had worked with and for Miranda for countless

years. As the speech starts, Miranda goes on about how the person she will choose has

been one of her best friends forever, but she does not announce Nigel’s name. She says

the name of someone she claims to hate, Jacqueline, the woman whom the company was

going to replace her with. Everyone in the crowd is surprised by this and whispers spread

throughout the room. She ends her speech and Nigel is in denial but mentions that she

will repay him someday.

On the way back to the hotel, Miranda and Andy had a private discussion.

Miranda starts by mentioning that she knew that there was a plan to replace her, and the

decision to choose Jacqueline instead of Nigel was made to save her job. She believes

that everyone she has connections with will follow her wherever she may go, and she is

impressed by Andy’s reliability with the secret she has been told. In the last moments of

the conversation, Miranda tries to compare Andy with herself, and Andy disagrees. She

then realizes that she does not want to live this life anymore. She quits her job, gives all
her expensive clothes to Emily, and reconnects with her boyfriend. This leads her to a

different workplace where she applies to be a journalist and receives the job out of luck,

because of a reference from Miranda Priestly herself.

My biggest takeaway from “The Devil Wears Prada” was the theme, as I believe

many can relate to it. As the movie progressed, I started to understand the purpose of the

making of this incredible film. The purpose is to inform viewers that money or

experience is not something that you can put before happiness. The film also educates its

audience about self-awareness, the realities of a toxic workplace, and the struggles that

many are faced with. Andy applies for a job, knowing she does not know anything about

fashion, but she still runs with the idea of never giving up. Miranda tears Andy down

every moment she can, but Andy stands right back up and continues with her

responsibilities. Even in the end, Andy follows instructions, stays loyal to Miranda, and

completes unreasonable tasks. This inspires me to go out of my comfort zone and

complete tasks that I normally would not do. The film makes me rethink my decisions

about choosing a career. It also makes me question if I would rather be happy or have

money to support myself. After watching this film, I have learned that some people will

go for fame and money, but others will choose their happiness over anything.