'The Devil Wears Prada'

Saw "The Devil Wears Prada" on DVD over the holiday weekend, and I have to say it's way more entertaining than the average chick flick. Having Meryl Streep as the big editor at the Vogue-like fashion magazine doesn't hurt in terms of raising the bar, and Anne Hathaway was pretty good, too, although the whole "she's fat and unattractive" thing really doesn't hold water. Same with her inability -- as a Northwestern grad, no less -- to get a journalism job in Manhattan, which is crawling with underpaid and overworked magazine and newspaper underlings.

Though it sounds like I'm slagging on it, I really did like the movie ... but I couldn't help but wonder at the large number of similarities to "Ugly Betty." The ABC show directly references "Devil Wears Prada" at times, and there are so many similiarities, from characters to plot points to props, that somebody has got to be considering suing somebody else ... or at least doing a little revenue sharing. If they turn "Prada" into a TV show, as I've heard rumored, they'll have a tough time separating it from "Betty."

Anyway, I did enjoy seeing Hathaway's transformation from above-it-all yet out-of-her-element sweater-wearer to pain-bringing uber-assistant, and the havoc wrought and suffered by all. And the turning of the plot on Streep's editor character is also miles above the average chick-flick script. Another quibble (sorry to be so negative, but not really), Hathaway's boyfriend, an aspiring chef played by "Entourage" principal Adrian Grenier, is pretty much aghast at her career path the whole way, and I think a scene of him enjoying the fruits of her labor would have added some much-needed complexity to his character. (Chick Flick Rule No. 14: Male characters have no depth, little breadth.) For instance, maybe Hathaway's connections at the magazine would get the boyfriend noticed -- and hired -- by a chef at a big-time restaurant, so he'd have some stake (and steak) in her rise to the top.

Stanley Tucci acquits himself well as the resident gay fashion arbiter at the magazine. His role could've been bigger.

But overall, if you're going to rent a chick flick, you could do much worse than "The Devil Wears Prada."

My rating: 3 stars