The Western Concept

by Cassandra Moos 

There’s a little bit of devil in all of us as Andy, played by actress Anne Hathaway, learns while working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), a top-of-the-line fashion guru. As Andy starts her job for Runway Magazine, she soon realizes that hard work and smarts don’t get you where you want to be. So Andy takes her frumpy clothes and “Plain Jane” makeup sense and does a complete one-eighty with her style to become one of the best looking Runway girls around. Though she only has to survive working for Miranda for one year to pursue her career in journalism at any magazine or newspaper in the country, she realizes that it’s going to be way more than she bargains for. Her personal life with friends and family begin to suffer, she has no personal time for herself and finds that she can’t make her own career advances without disappointing her boss.

This movie was a delightful experience. It left me asking myself, “What would I do in her situation?” or, “Would I let a career opportunity get that far?” Both actresses, Hathaway and Streep, were perfect for the parts. We are used to seeing Hathaway go from frump to glam, this movie was no exception. Streep played another marvelous roll and continues her claim to fame and ability to play any role given to her.

I recommend this movie to men and women alike. Though it is a stereotypical “chick flick”, I feel that men will walk away with a new understanding for what women go through at work with having to “dress to impress” and I feel that women will walk away realizing that work isn’t everything or that the models or celebrities that they so value and treasure don’t always have a glamorous life.