Richard Linklater released Dazed & Confusedin 1993 to little fanfare, but the coming of age film, set in '70s era Austin has since come to be considered a classic.
It was Matthew McConaughey's debut, and is perhaps his most perfect role to date, as the older, stuck-in-the-past slacker and high school dropout, David Wooderson.
The video recreates a scene where the characters enter the Emporium — and the reappearance refutes Wooderson's classically quotable and borderline-pedophelic adage, "That's what I love about these high school girls . . . I get older, they stay the same."
The actor, now 42, looks hardly a day older.
Dressed up the the iconic "David Wooderson" outfit — belted salmon pants, a pipe necklace, tattooed forearm and a T-shirt with a Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes album cover on the front and a pack of cigarettes rolled into the sleeve — McConaughey shows few signs of aging, save a rounder belly and an ever-so-slightly receded hairline.
McConaughey still seems to exude the same cocky, laconic cool as he weaves through the crown, singing along (unconvincingly) to the song's lyrics, playing the trumpet and tinkling a tiny piano.
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
When The Devil Wears Prada came out 20 years ago, it was a sensation for essentially two reasons: The showcase of the glamour of the fashion industry, and the performance of Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly. Streep’s withering glares, disdain shown toward Priestly’s subordinates, and delivery of several instantly iconic lines rightfully earned her an Oscar nomination.
Two decades later, the gang has come back together for The Devil Wears Prada 2, trying to recapture some of that magic. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), freshly fired from her job at the fictional New York Mirror, is brought back into the fold at Runway magazine to be their features editor. Miranda is still in charge and as standoffish as ever, but Nigel (Stanley Tucci) welcomes her back with open arms.
Like everything else, Runway has had to change with the times, going mostly digital and having to kowtow to advertisers to keep the money flowing. That includes sucking up to Miranda’s former assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt), who’s now the head of the New York branch of Christian Dior. However, even Andy's incisive writing and Miranda’s keen eye for the next fashion trend may not be enough to keep the magazine afloat.
The filmmaking team of director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna have also returned, and they have done a good job of keeping the tone of the original film without relying too much on nostalgia. Most of the main characters have aged/changed in reasonable and appropriate ways, and it’s initially fun to see them all interacting again. The fashion side of things keeps the film feeling high-class, even if most regular people can’t afford most of what’s on display.
The filmmakers have lots of ideas on how to update the characters for the modern world, but the follow-through on those ideas is not as great. Because there is no longer the same power dynamic between Andy and Miranda, Frankel and McKenna go in search of other conflicts, none of which work as well. The two-hour film ends up feeling like a bunch of individual scenes that are tenuously held together by the barest thread of a story.
Strangest of all, though, is the film’s treatment of Miranda. She remains somewhat imperious, but her influence has diminished in multiple ways. In trying to make her change with the times, including bowing to politically correct terminology, the film has neutered what made her such a great character. There is rarely a point where she feels in charge, and the story choices made because of that weaken the film overall.
In 2006, Hathaway was just barely out of her Princess Diaries phase, and she has gone on to become a major, Oscar-winning star with no fewer than five different films coming out in 2026. She remains the heart and soul of this film, and she elevates every scene she’s in. Streep is hamstrung by the changes in her character, but she still brings her unique presence to the role. Tucci remains a delight and has great chemistry with Hathaway, but Blunt is underserved by a role that keeps her apart from the others for large stretches and tethered to an annoying character played by Justin Theroux.
As with many sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is enjoyable just because it allows fans to spend time with some favorite characters again. Even though the filmmakers don’t utilize those characters in ways that are as memorable as the first time around, the film is still a fun time at the theater that gives moviegoers a glimpse at a world many can only dream to be in.
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The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in theaters on May 1.
