I want to tell you a little story before I get into the review. I showed up to the theater clutching my Prada purse as a tribute to the movie. It reminded me of the time my stepbrother Jason and I had a picnic at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. He spotted my bag and immediately said, “Prada or frauda?” I smacked him with it and said, “Did that feel real?” I think about that moment often and with great fondness. So yeah, I arrived at this screening properly accessorized and in the right spirit.

Now, on to the movie. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is not as good as the first — and I don’t think it’s trying to be. What it is doing is wrapping its arms around the original and giving it a long, warm hug. It knows you love these characters. It knows you’ve missed them. And it leans into that completely.

7:42●●● 95%

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The whole original crew came back — Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and my personal favorite human being on the planet, Stanley Tucci. Twenty years later and these four still have the kind of chemistry you can’t manufacture. It just is. Tucci as Nigel was my favorite in the first movie and he didn’t disappoint for a single second here. He is perfection. He is my people. If Stanley Tucci isn’t your favorite actor, I genuinely don’t know what to tell you.

The story picks up with Runway magazine fighting for its survival in a world that’s moved on to digital everything. Miranda Priestly navigating the modern media landscape? Yes, please. Meryl Streep makes even the most absurd situations feel completely plausible, and watching her try to outmaneuver the future is both hilarious and oddly poignant. Emily Blunt’s Emily has clawed her way up to a position of real power — and I won’t say more than that — but watching her go toe-to-toe with Miranda in a whole new way is worth the price of admission all by itself.

My only real complaint is that the movie occasionally tries to do too much. There are subplots and new characters that feel a little crammed in, and a few moments where the pacing drags. The first movie was lean and sharp. This one has a little more padding than it needs. But when the four leads are together, none of that matters. You forget everything and just enjoy it.

The sequel also takes on the current state of media and journalism in ways that actually land. It’s not preachy about it — it just lets you feel it. If you work in any kind of creative field, some of this might hit a little close to home.

Bottom line: go see it. Bring your fanciest bag. These characters earned a second chapter, and while it may not reach the heights of the original, it’s a genuinely fun, warm, and well-acted reunion that left me happy I went. And it reminded me that some things — like Stanley Tucci — only get better with time.

Grade: A-

Plot As Miranda Priestly nears retirement, she reunites with Andy Sachs to face off against her former assistant turned rival: Emily Charlton.