The Devil Wears Prada is like comfort food at my house, a film that gets broken out after bad days at work or when we want something light and familiar. When the sequel to the cult classic film was announced, I felt skeptical and a little nervous, but the film delivers. In The Devil Wears Pra da 2, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) gets laid off from her newspaper job, but before she can panic about paying her rent, she gets scooped up by Runway Magazine to help her former boss, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), recover the publication’s credibility after they accidentally promoted a fast fashion brand. Miranda, Andy, and ever-faithful Nigel (Stanley Tucci) have to appease their advertisers, including Dior, now represented by their old frenemy, Emily (Emily Blunt). Then, Andy has to find a way to do journalism that both has a perspective and does the right digital metrics to keep her at the magazine. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is beat-for-beat very similar in structure to the original film, but instead of operating as an outsider, Andy now has twenty years of experience and earned confidence backing her up. And the screenwriters smartly pivot from telling a story about the fashion industry to telling one about journalism, making a case for the role of good writing and human artistry in an industry collapsing under pressures from buyouts, the internet, and AI. Plus, some of the couture comes from thrift shops this time. With these new problems, the idea that a demanding editor like Miranda would be the villain is quaint. She even has a new assistant (Simone Ashley) who tut-tuts to keep her on the right side of HR. I kept waiting for a more biting remark from her. Nevertheless, Meryl Streep is exquisite in the role. Meanwhile, we get new antagonists in the form of a ridiculous tech billionaire, Benji Barns (Justin Theroux), and an heir to a media empire, Jay Raviz (B.J. Novak). With so many new characters around the Runway offices, many of them fade into the background in the presence of Hathaway, Streep, Tucci, and Blunt. Others, such as Theroux’s Barns, are a bit too silly. I cannot figure out why Kenneth Branagh of all people was cast as Miranda’s new husband. Plus, there are tons of brand placements and small parts for people from Lucy Liu to Lady Gaga. At times, it feels like too much. But in the scenes that get to the essence of the characters, what made the first movie great, the film comes together. The Devil Wears Prada 2 brings back these beloved characters who have evolved in ways that feel organic, and it does plenty of fan service, but it also tries to say something about our media landscape and the importance of having a perspective and pursuing excellence. Although the film sometimes falters, for a sequel, it does a good job of balancing a now-established brand with relevant criticisms that I just wish had been a bit more pointed. The Devil Wears Prada 2 was written by Aline Brosh McKenna and Lauren Weisberger and directed by David Frankel. It runs 119 minutes and is rated PG-13. On Netflix, Big Mistakes asks how far you would go for a sibling, even if they are overly dramatic, passive-aggressive, and a hot mess. Nicky (Dan Levy) is a pastor on the verge of a personal crisis, but that’s nothing compared to the trouble his younger sister, Morgan (Taylor Ortega), gets them into when she crosses paths with an organized crime ring. Meanwhile, their Type-A sister, Natalie (Abby Quinn), is running their mother, Linda’s (Laurie Metcalf) campaign for mayor. And, Morgan gets engaged to her high school sweetheart, Max (Jack Innanen), who, despite his impressive mother, Annette (Elizabeth Perkins), is kind of a dud. The family is really in need of a good therapist, even before they embark on a life of crime. I was curious about how Dan Levy would write another brother-sister duo. Would this show be just a darker twist on the antics of David and Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek? There are similarities, but Nicky and Morgan’s relationship has a darker undercurrent, and the dialogue between the two is sometimes shockingly passive-aggressive and narcissistic. A couple of episodes in, I was already tiring of their dynamic, but the writing veers then into their personal problems–more interesting terrain. As a whole, the family is so dysfunctional that without the performances from the ensemble, they would have been unbearable. Yet the actors bring nuance, impeccable comedic timing, and just enough love to the characters that the comedy breaks through the harsh tendencies. As Lina, Laurie Metcalf makes some brutal material into laugh lines, and Taylor Ortega and Abby Quinn make unlikable characters somehow relatable. The writing of Big Mistakes consistently ratchets up the suspense, dragging Nicky and Morgan through sometimes unbelievable scenarios until a final act twist that felt both earned and shocking. There were plenty of traps along the way where the story could have leaned on cliches and genre tropes, but the writing consistently provides fresh stakes and bizarre twists, making for a riveting limited season of television. Big Mistakes was created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott. It runs for eight 30-minute episodes and is rated TV-MA. ...read more read less