The Devil wears Prada and she is played by Meryl Streep in one of the smartest and funniest comedies one is likely to see all year. Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief at the fictional Runway magazine and the doyenne of fashionistas everywhere, whose every word - no, every thought - is to be feared.

Fresh out of university comes Andrea as one of Preistly's assistant's assistant (well-played by Emily Blunt) and she is ill-prepared for the world of high-powered fashion. Anne Hathaway has grown up from the perky princess she played in The Princess Diaries and plays against type as a dowdy young lady who has to be indoctrinated into the world of designer labels and high style, while battling with her conscience - is she selling out or moving on up.

She may have displayed more of a range in the straight-to-cable flick Havoc, but Hathaway is fun to watch and is a perfect foil for Streep's queen bitch, who drops sarcasm and insults in a world-weary manner, as if the troubles of a fashion world are a cross she must bear and everyone else is merely a necessary nuisance.

The Devil Wears Prada is based on the best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger, which was on The New York Times bestseller list for about six months.

The genius of the movie, and one assumes the book, is that they make the fashion world interesting even to someone who would not know Prada - or any other designer label - if someone slapped him upside the head with it (and these days, dancehall DJs and their hip-hop counterparts are name-dropping the hot designers as if they were raised on haute couture).

Making Hathaway look dowdy - for a while - is an achievement in and of itself and Streep, as always, is a screen genius. In addition, Stanley Tucci is snarky beyond belief and just makes the movie that much more enjoyable. So go have fun and watch The Devil Wears Prada.

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