If I were to choose the dark horse film of 2006, it would have to be “The Devil Wears Prada.” Sure, there were some great sleeper hits of the year like “Little Miss Sunshine,” but “The Devil Wears Prada” had much more to overcome than the charming story of a dysfunctional road trip.

If you would have asked me in May how this film would have done, I would have guessed only so-so. Sure, the original theatrical trailer was great – basically showing the first couple minutes of the film, not revealing any spoilers and setting the tone for the entire film. However, I thought it would fall into obscurity when it went up against the Man of Steel.

In June, “Prada” was the only film brave enough to release on the same day as “Superman Returns.” And while everyone was talking about Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Bryan Singer, “Prada” made a strong debut in the theatre. And after the Superman buzz wore of, letting the film dip in the box office, “Prada” continued a steady climb. In the end, “Superman Returns” grossed more (but only by about $80 million), but “Prada” was the clear winner since it didn’t have a close to $300 million production budget.

“The Devil Wears Prada” isn’t just your typical boss-from-hell story, although that’s what it best describes it. It’s really a story about a woman who finds herself at a time of life decision and eventually discovers the kind of person she wants to be.

The movie opens with Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a frumpy Ohio girl looking for a job in New York City. She stumbles upon an assistant’s job for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the bitchy head of Runway magazine, the premiere fashion magazine in the country. Andy takes the job and is instantly assaulted by Miranda’s wrath. She’s abused, insulted and overworked. However, Andy holds on because everyone tells her it’s a job a million girls would kill for.

Soon, Andy manages to adjust herself – and her style – to fit the Runway model. She’s learning to not just get by in high-pressure publishing, but she’s excelling. Even though Miranda is still a witch, they learn to work together, leading Andy to decide whether she wants to sell her soul to the industry.

The new DVD comes with an assortment of special features, including a commentary by the filmmakers and featurettes covering everything from the fashion industry to bosses from hell. There’s a pretty funny gag reel that gives us an opportunity to see how uncomfortable Anne Hathaway is in high heels and rare instances of Meryl Streep blowing her lines. There’s also more than 20 minutes of deleted scenes removed for time but that could stand to be reinserted to bring more depth to the characters.

Rather than talking at length about what I liked and didn’t about this movie, I want to use my father as a selling point. My father is in his 60s, has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, works in the reference section of a library and considers “2001: A Space Odyssey” to be the greatest film of all time. Growing up, I cannot remember him ever seeing a film that starred Meryl Streep, let alone liking one. My father is the last person I would have expected to see “The Devil Wears Prada.”

But he did. And he loved it. He liked it more than “Superman Returns,” which is a huge feat considering he remembers buying Superman comics at the local drug store when they were only in the double digits.

My father didn’t just love the movie, he became a zealot. He convinced most of my family to see the film, and he practically preached its greatness from the street corner. When I finally saw “The Devil Wears Prada,” I liked it, but I never understood why the movie touched him so deeply. Maybe it was the 25 years he spent at a crummy job with incompetent middle management and bosses from hell.

Whatever the case, consider this the highest recommendation for “The Devil Wears Prada.” If some sixtysomething nerd who read books about galactic empires and hasn’t even touched a fashion magazine can love this movie, anyone can.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. Widescreen (2.35:1) – Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Spanish subtitles. Spanish and French language tracks. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.