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Every young woman currently in college studying day in and out with desperate hopes to pursue a career in the fashion media industry should be thanking the director of The Devil Wears Prada for creating the film. David Frankel succeeds at shining an honest light on the reality of the field.

Today, television is targeting and currently recruiting many young girls who are attracted to the idea of a career in the big city pertaining to fashion, media, or entertainment. But they consciously leave out not only the difficulty of achieving these dreams but also the unwanted aspects that follow the lifestyle. Shows such as Sex in the City can make a young girl change her career goals in order to achieve the luxurious, but not to mention ever so stressful lifestyle of 30-year-old Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, who is only sure about one thing in her life, her career.

Not saying that the job Andy, in the Devil Wears Prada, gets is not one to be proud of, but any viewer of the film can tell you that she sticks it out only to prove a point. Andy must prove to herself, but most importantly others, that she can survive the “devil” Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep). The job and industry as a whole begins to change Andy so much that even her closest loved ones can no longer relate to her. She is forced to choose between her career and family and friends, something many individuals in the field are forced to do.

At the conclusion of the film, Andy quits her job as secretary for Miranda and decides to get an honest job as an editor for a local newspaper. The job also allows her to do what she desired the whole time, write.

The film yells in the very title that in order to not only survive, but reign in the industry, one must become cold, determined, and impersonal. These qualities leave no room for loving relationships but guarantee success in the workplace. This poses only a slight ultimatum before every young girl desiring a career in the field.

The Devil Wears Prada is an intriguing movie for women and fashion-enthusiasts of all ages. I enjoyed the film, but found myself disliking Anne Hathway’s character, Andy Sachs, by the end of the movie. Despite my respect for Hathway as an actress, I only sympathized with Andy at the very beginning of the film. I did not relate to her troubles and disagreed with her decisions.

Andy’s decline as an innocent girl begins when she rejects her friends, family, and boyfriend for the job she claims to despise. When Andy is first hired by the strict boss Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep), Andy’s naivety in the world of fashion creates a tone of empathy. Her efforts are genuine and she stays true to herself. However, Andy changes her style to please her boss and becomes a new person. Once madly in love with her boyfriend, Andy begins to let him down. Andy refuses, yet still invites the attention of a handsome fashion man many times during ill-lighted scenes of the movie. She accepts his attention at a hazy party and stops to talk with him after an evening ball, the same night she misses her boyfriend’s birthday party.

As my sympathies for Andy faded, I recognized her own downfall in letting her career overtake her life. After confiding in her co-worker that her personal life is “hanging on by a thread,” his answer implies that it will only get worse. Instead of realizing her inevitable future of doom, Andy continues down her fashionable path of destroying all that she cares about in her life. Andy completely lost my respect when she replaces her co-worker’s place in Paris after her co-worker toils months for the event, starves herself to fit into all the designer clothes, and is hospitalized after being hit by a car on her way to please Mrs. Priestly. Andy continued to view herself as the victim in the situation instead of recognizing her own faults and taking responsibility for her actions. She pleads with her bed-ridden co-worker that it issn’t her fault and that she was forced to replace her in Paris. This excuse seems childish and disappointed me because I had hoped she would finally stand up to her boss and sacrifice herself for her co-worker.

When in Paris, I lost all faith in Andy’s character because she sleeps with the handsome courtier. I kept hoping that she would see through the glam and glitter of fashion to the truth that she was becoming as heartless as the boss she hates. When she finally refuses Mrs. Priestly and returns to her home, she tries to put her life back together. At this point, I was too upset with her decisions that the mending was not enough for me. I hoped that her loved ones would forgive her, which they did, but my respect for Andy had already vanished.

Although I would recommend this movie as a classic for girls interested in fashion, I warn that Andy is not as innocent as the previews depict and sympathizing with the character is difficult by the end of the film.

David Frankel's The Devil Wears Prada is an often times awe inspiring film particularly for goal driven young women. Its storyline pertains particularly to the cut throat world of fashion and the perils that a young naive woman could fall victim to. However, it delivers the age old message that it's not always the clothes that make the man.

Initially, in the film we are introduced to a young twenty-something Andy (played by Anne Hathaway) who, obviously struggling to maintain a steady and successful job, lands the most envied position in the world as assistant to Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly at Runway Magazine. It struck me as sad to watch this young girl so vibrant with dreams of becoming a successful writer for a nationally circulated newspaper suppresses her dreams temporarily to "get her foot in the door." Suddenly, Andy's yuppie clothing is replaced by those containing labels with the names of Gucci, Dior, Chanel, and the unforgettable Prada.

Her personal relationships struggle as well as she finds herself falling out of sync with those she cares about most. Her power at the high profile fashion magazine increases and she suddenly finds herself as the devil's advocate. She becomes so far removed from herself that it is hard for her to even look in the mirror and recognize the vibrant character that she used to be. Her friends see her as putting her work before those she cares about and she, like any other young and driven professional, sees herself as doing what is needed in order to be successful. Her boyfriend Nate (played by Adrian Grenier) sees their relationship hanging by a thread as the two lose sight of who they are as both individuals and as a couple.

Unfortunately Nate's doubts for the relationship are justified as Andy's powerful position leads her to meet Simon Baker's character, Christian Thompson, a slick and successful older man who sees her as a potential romantic conquest. This understandably, does not end well and is but a small occurrence in the many incidents that make Andy choose the "boring" and somewhat charming life that she left behind.

Throughout Prada it is amazing to see Andy and Miranda's relationship evolve from one of authoritarianism to one that seemingly contains trust and a genuine respect between the two of them. As Andy struggles to find her way in the traps of journalism's competitive world, it is through the promise of working at Runway Magazine for one year, which Andy failed to do by only a few months, she finds that she can get a job anywhere starting at a local newspaper.

This film does an excellent job of depicting the struggling working world that young adults must endure in order to be successful. Though the job is merely a dream for most struggling twenty-somethings it and its employees paint a wonderful picture of the price one must pay for success.

Kristi - You're cuter than Anne !