Hey I can enjoy a good chick-flick every now and again. And I surprisingly enjoyed this very feminine-centric one.

Andrea Sachs (Hathaway) is our designated plucky protagonist. She’s a lovely and down-to-earth aspiring journalist who’s looking into an open secondary assistant position at Runway magazine under the most high-powered and icy fashion editor in the history of cinema, Miranda Priestly (Streep). Andrea is a casual dresser, and modern fashion isn’t really her forte, and it all leads to an unpleasant baptism by fire under the tyrannical yet reserved Miranda. While working as a secretary and lap-dog isn’t exactly working toward becoming the new Eric Harrison, well we all have to start somewhere.

I think what I like about Streep’s Miranda is that she’s more than just one-dimensional bully boss. She may seem shallow and short with people, but there’s a real character and person behind it. Streep makes sure not to overdo it and chew any scenery. She keeps it emotional and understated but is there. I think ultimately you see how living the life that she does galvanizes you and how it changes you.

It changes Andrea as well, even though it doesn’t always outwardly seem that way in her attitude. But she’s willing to jeopardize her integrity and beliefs in order to serve the whims of her boss. My mentor taught us that the top priority was to never, ever lose our integrity. And that’s really Andrea’s main dilemma. How can she remain herself if she keeps changing herself and her life in order to serve the superficial, image-obsessed world of fashion?

The movie does take a few cheap short-cuts I didn’t care for, specifically Simon Baker returning as a hunky potential love interest and perhaps even an ideal match for the nu-Andrea. There’s the pre-makeover scene which was so blatant you could see the lightbulb over Hathaway’s noggin, followed by the typical nu-protagonist showing off her nu-her montage. If you’ve seen one, you’ve ’em all.

There aren’t enough chick-flicks as tolerable as this one is. It’s a step in the right direction, but when Hollywood does that, it’s usually after taking several steps backward.

—Jeffrey “The Vile One” Harris