The Devil Wears Prada

Appleby Film Club, 14th February

This film divided opinion among our Film Club members. It’s classed as a ‘romantic comedy drama’ and it is standard mainstream fare. Most people enjoyed it, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I found it funny, light, and worth watching for wonderful performances from Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. Streep’s role, in particular, as the despotic editor in chief of a top fashion magazine, could easily have become an obvious Cruella de Ville-style cliché in the hands of a lesser actor. Streep pulls it off with grace and just the right amount of sympathy to create a real human character. Anne Hathaway plays the main protagonist with much less depth and a very predictable path through to a standard Hollywood ending.

The audience’s main criticism was the lack of surprise in the primary plot. The sub-plots around Tucci and Blunt’s characters were much more interesting. When these two and Streep were off-screen, particularly in the second half of the film, the action dragged.

Next Month: The highly successful and critically acclaimed Volver, directed by Pedro Almodovar. This is another comedy drama but a complete contrast to The Devil Wears Prada. It is R rated for sexual content, and sub-titled. No doubt it will also divide opinion!

Ricardo Tesi & Maurizio Geri

Well from one extreme to the other!  After the childrens’ excitement over Circus Berzercus a sophisticated adult evening.  The hall was organised in ‘caberet style’ with low tables for groups of friends to sit around.  The sound and lighting was great as was the music. Riccardo played accordion and introduced the material and Maurizio played guitar and sang.  The music was a mixture of Tuscan folk music – introduced with stories about local culture and history – and their own contemporary compositions.  You can hear some examples from their website at www.riccardotesi.com 

The singing was in Italian.  This along with Riccardo’s accented introductions swept away any qualms one might have had about enthusiastic engagement with male-centred tales! 

Centre Stage showed its worth yet again in bringing quality acts to the small venue.  The new programme has classical music for the first time in the form of the London Mozart Players (booking up fast) as well as a range of theatre (next one March 14th) aimed at children and adults. 

Circus Berzercus

This was principally a children’s event – but one it would have taken a very hard hearted adult not to enjoy!  It featured Gerald – abandoned by his partner who had gone on to better things, and left in the lurch by an agency who promised a new person would turn up at any moment … He filled in the time with some ball spinning acts ably assisted by a young volunteer.  When the new man Wallace does appear … very unsteadily on a unicycle … he does not seem to know any of the acts that Gerald wants them to perform.  This story line proved a great foil raising anxiety about whether they would be able to perform the planned acts and making them all the more impressive when, as in the 6 club juggling act, they succeeded against the odds.  The children, already very excited by earlier activities, were desperate to participate.  Gerald and Wallace were brilliant at keeping them completely engaged – but I wondered how their parents were going to get them to bed afterwards.  Adults were not let off the hook – with volunteers being sought to have clubs thrown at (well hopefully past …) them, do cartwheels and be left suspended on a plank!  Very funny, engaging and made us all want to run off and join the circus.