In the world of fashion books and movies,Lauren Weisberger’sThe Devil Wears Pradastands out as a total masterpiece. The story has managed to combine captivating elements that contribute to the theme — ranging from glamour, humor, and a real eye-opening look into the cutthroat world of the fashion journalism industry. From the publication of the novel, the story of Andy Sachs reached great popularity. Andy’s journey as an aspiring writer navigating the treacherous waters of Runway magazine under the demanding tutelage ofthe formidable Miranda Priestlyhas resonated with readers and viewers worldwide.
In 2006, the novelThe Devil Wears Pradawas turned into a movie byAline Brosh McKenna. The film starredAnne HathawayandMeryl Streep. Although the film kept a lot of the book’s essence in many ways, there were some noticeable differences. One big one is that the book mainly follows Andy’s journey.The book allows the audience to understand in much more detail the intricate details of the characters. On the other hand, the movie focuses more onhow the fashion industry operates and how it can change a person. While it is undeniable the importance and popularity that the story has reached, whether it is due to the movie, the book, or a combination of both, is yet to be discovered.
The Devil Wears Prada
Andy (Anne Hathaway) is a recent college graduate with big dreams. Upon landing a job at prestigious Runway magazine, she finds herself the assistant to diabolical editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy questions her ability to survive her grim tour as Miranda’s whipping girl without getting scorched.
How Is Book Andy Sachs Different in the Movie?
Andrea Sachs or Andy (Hathaway) is the protagonist ofThe Devil Wears Prada. In the movie, Andy is a recent graduate from Northwestern University who lands the job “a million girls would die for”. The job consists of working as an assistant forthe famous “Ice Queen” Miranda Priestly(Meryl Streep), who is the famous editor-in-chief of the fictional fashion magazine Runway. However, Andy does not want to work in the fashion industry as she is mostly interested in becoming a journalist, but sees this job as an opportunity to later get the job of her dreams. In the film, Andy is a quiet, polite, and hard-working assistant. When she is presented with a project or assignment, she will try to tackle it.
In the book, Andy has quite a different personality. Andy is a strong-willed young woman, who swears and smokes often. She is also remembered as quite snarky and snobby, qualities that she despises in others, believing that a lot of the assignments or projects she is given are below her. She graduated from Brown, instead of Northwestern University, and she started her job with Miranda only after she spent some time traveling the world. While Andy is a blonde in the book, probably because Weisberger herself is also a blonde, making Andy a brunette in the movie was not an intentional change. Hathaway was not the first option for the character. In fact, she was the ninth choice,withRachel McAdamsbeing the studio’s first choice.
How Does Andy’s and Nate’s Relationship Change From Book to Movie?
Nate, Andy’s boyfriend, suffers a lot more changes in the movie in comparison to the book. In the movie, Nate (Adrian Grenier) is remembered for the lack of respect he had for Andy’s job. He did not support her and disliked her new job. In the book, Nate goes by the name of Alex Fineman and he has a very different career.Alex is much more patient and appreciative of Andythan his movie counterpart. They also do not live together and Andy lives with 2 female roommates. Still,the cause of their breakup remains largely the same: as Andy’s work life becomes more and more demanding, she starts missing a lot of important events that matter to her boyfriend. So, in the end, he decides to break up with her because he thinks she does not prioritize their relationship. The end of the relationship is significantly different. In the movie, they get the chance to reunite and attempt to work through their differences, but, in the books, they do not try to reconnect and their relationship is largely described as irreparable.
How Different Are Andy’s Friendships in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’?
In the movie, Andy’s friends do not take the front seat they are given in the book. The movie talks about how uncomfortable Andy’s friends become with her job, but not much is told about them individually, and it represents them quite differently from the book. Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) and Andy also have a very different relationship in the book, at least in the beginning. In the movie, Emily is arrogant, demanding, and kind of cruel towards Andy. Yet,in the book, when Andy first got the job, Emily treated her with empathy and kindness.
When it came to fashion week,in the movie, Andy maintains that she had no choice but to take Emily’s place even when she had every chance to say no knowing what it meant to Emily. This decision becomes an example that Andy has completely lost herself in the industry. In the book, Andy does not actively decide to take the opportunity from Emily. Instead, as Emily is diagnosed with mono and is instructed to not leave her bed in 3 weeks, it is Emily who tells Andy she must take her place at Fashion Week. In the book, this serves as an example as to how the job isolates Andy, because she is forced to decide if she should fulfill her job obligations and go to Fashion Week or go on a pre-planned trip with her boyfriend. Althoughthe situations are different in both the movie and the film, the consequence is still the same: Andy and Nate break up.
In the book, Lily is Andy’s best friend.Lily has an alcohol problem that Andy helped her with. But as Andy gets more and more involved with her job, Lily becomes more and more dependent on alcohol. During Fashion Week, Andy learns that Lily has gotten into a traffic accident caused by her alcoholism, and due to it, she is in a coma. After learning this, Andy still decides to stay at Fashion Week with Miranda. Andy does not return home to see Lily. It was only when Miranda told Andy that she reminded her of herself that made Andy realize how bad she had gotten. Once she comes home, Lily and Andy move in with Andy’s parents.
How Different is the Book Miranda Priestly Compared to the Movie?
Miranda Priestly is one of the most affected characters in the movie adaptation. While the personality and character traits that characterize Miranda as the titular devil are left untouched in the movie,it is only in the books that we get more of Miranda’s past.This deep dive into the story of Miranda allows readers to empathize with her and to understand where the cruelty comes from.
In the book, Miranda Priestly is born Miriam Princhek to a large, poor, and orthodox Jewish family. Miranda’s siblings all follow in her parent’s footsteps and marry young, ready to have a large family themselves. But Miranda wants something more from life. At 17, Miranda quits high school and goes to work for a British fashion designer as his assistant while learning French in the evenings. Her family never understood what drove her to work so hard for a lifestyle so different from the one they aspired to have. But she promised herself that she would never again suffer from poverty and anonymity, making money and fame the ultimate goals for her. Later on, Miranda got a job as a junior editor at Chic Magazine in Paris, and it was then that she truly entered the world of fashion. It was also then that Miranda decided to change her name and forsake her past.
Does ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ End the Same Way as the Book?
We all loved the iconic scene inThe Devil Wears Pradawhen Andy leaves Miranda behind and tosses her cellphone into the fountain in Paris. But what actually drove Andy to take such an iconic action is very different in the book and the movie. In the movie, Andy learns about what Miranda did to Nigel (Stanley Tucci), and how she stole his dream job because she could and because she wanted to. This realization that Miranda could betray one of her closest confidants makes Andy realize how far the industry could take her. Especially when Miranda points out that that is exactly what she did to Emily by going on the trip to Paris. This revelation is what leads Andy to leave Miranda and quit her job.
In the book, Andy learns about her best friend Lily’s car accident and even then she decides to stay in Paris. The accident cements Andy’s commitment to Fashion Week and Miranda herself. What really shook Andy to her core was howMiranda said that Andy reminded her of her younger self. Only this comparison was enough for Andy to really reflect on whether this was what she wanted from life. The two versions of the scene serve the same purpose, Andy realizes that she is becoming Miranda and decides to turn her life around.
In the final scenes of the movie, Andy gets to try to reconcile with Nate and nails her interview with The New York Mirror with a very positive recommendation from Miranda herself, and we also understand that there’s a respect between Andy and Miranda. In the movie, Andy gets everything she ever thought she needed. In the book, Andy does not get her dream job and does not get to repair her relationship with Nate.The book seeks to reflect on what Andy has learned from the past year, not what she has achieved.
