The Most Searing Critical Takedowns of 'Revenge Wears Prada'

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger is absolutely lovely in person, as we learned earlier this week at a Gilt City party for her follow up book, Revenge Wears Prada. And while her super-nice demeanor made us personal fans of the writer, it also makes the critical response to her much-anticipated Devil sequel that much more cringe-worthy.

Because, honestly, the reviews have not been very good. In fact, they have not even been a little bit good.

The Washington Post summarizes:

"'Revenge' is set 10 years later, and Andy is now editor-in-chief and part-owner of a hit bridal magazine she launched with her former Runway coworker Emily. There are a number of problems with this setup, one being that Andy apparently managed to survive for a decade in New York City by working as a "contributing editor writing for a wedding blog." But more troublesome is the name of the magazine, The Plunge. Andy describes it as 'simple, dramatic, effortless,' but it sounds like something one might use to unblock a toilet."

Essentially, the critics seem unconvinced both by the premise that Andy's character hasn't changed at all, and the assumption that we should care about her in the first place. MSN Entertainment elaborates:

"...It's so disconcerting that Weisberger's sequel to her book puts Andy right back where she was before – just a few years on. [...] So Andy got back into a side of publishing she didn't like so much, is still afraid of Miranda, and will likely have some relationship issues thanks to her work? Nice maturation there."

Also, the movie was a tough act to follow. NY Daily News writes:

"Soon enough, the faults of "The Devil Wears Prada" were obscured by the brilliance of the 2006 movie. Wisely, Meryl Streep, in her stunning portrayal, softened the character of Miranda Priestly by humanizing her. Unwisely, Weisberger does not follow suit. That's the first barrier to enjoying "Revenge Wears Prada." We're expecting to join up with the players we learned to love from the movie, but Weisberger says she intentionally kept the characters she created in her first book in mind as she wrote. That's an unfortunate choice."

And, to really drive the point home, The Daily Beast simply rounded up "The 11 Most Cringeworthy Moments" from the book.

Before we you start to feel too bad for Weisberger, though, let's all remember that she made about $4 million in book and movie deals of the first Devil, and if there is a follow-up film to go with the sequel, she'll likely top that this time around. (Meryl Streep has already said she is game.)

Besides, Weisberger told us she's more interested in the reaction of Devil fans than the reviews. "Some people in the media have gotten early copies, but actual, plain old readers and fans haven't read it yet," she said.

We imagine whatever the reviews say, we'll still be seeing the book on plenty of beach blankets this season.—Erika Graham
· The 13 Best Movie Shopping Spree Scenes Since The '80s [Racked]
· Fashion's Muse of the Moment: Meryl Streep? [Racked]