Don’t be surprised if “That’s all” becomes the pop culture catchphrase of the moment. It’s the withering dismissal that steely fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) gives her underlings in “The Devil Wears Prada.” And it’s just a fraction of the pure evil Streep brings to role. So how does Streep’s Miranda Priestly compare with she-devil Viola Fields (Jane Fonda) in “Monster-In-Law”? We feel a cold stare-off coming.
OCCUPATION
Viola Fields
She’s a recently fired TV anchor hell-bent on wrecking her son’s engagement to a woman she doesn’t find worthy of his affection.
Miranda Priestly
She’s the iron-fisted and fur-clad editor of tastemaking fashion magazine Runway. As boss, she calls all the shots, from the clothes to be worn in the cover photo to the feature that appears on the last page. (Check mark).
WHIPPING GIRL
Viola Fields
Viola heaps malice on Charlie (Jennifer Lopez), her son’s dazzling but humble fiance.
Miranda Priestly
Priestly’s punching bag is newly hired second assistant Andrea (Anne Hathaway), whom she derides for her looks and for lacking a sense of fashion. (Check mark).
DEVILRY
Viola Fields
Leads Charlie to believe she’s coming over for a casual get-together but invites all the politicians and A-listers she knows to a formal soiree, for which Charlie now is embarrassingly underdressed.
Miranda Priestly
Fires assistants for making the slightest mistakes. One, we learn, got the ax for missing a phone call. (She was nursing her hand, which she’d sliced with a letter opener.) Tramples on others to maintain her status as top dog. (Check mark).
VULNERABILITY
Viola Fields
We learn that Viola, too, had to impress a bitchy and derisive mother-in-law. Double boo hoo.
Miranda Priestly
We learn that Priestly is a divorcee who is deeply protective of her twin girls. Boo hoo. (Check mark).
UNPARDONABLE SIN
Viola Fields
Unwittingly poisons Charlie, who has a peanut allergy. (Check mark).
Miranda Priestly
Orders Andrea to pick up the new Harry Potter book for her twins–the unreleased manuscript of the new Harry Potter book.
OVERALL WINNER:
Priestly–played to the hilt by Streep–is queen of the ice queens, and some critics have suggested she could get an Oscar nomination for the role. Fonda plays Viola too far over-the-top to be revered along with the great movie bad girls of all time.
Photo flap
Police in Westfield, Mass., say they have seized a digital camera with images of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Africa for an investigation by L.A. authorities.
Authorities went to the Westfield home of William Keys on Tuesday to recover a digital camera’s memory stick after three photos that appeared on the Internet were tracked to Keys, police said Friday.
Officers then went to Precision Camera and Video Repair in Enfield, Conn., where Keys works, and recovered the camera. It remains in custody of Westfield police.
No one has been arrested or charged in the case. It was unclear who took the photos. Keys did not return telephone calls Friday.
She’s a convert
Keira Knightley acknowledged being skeptical at first about starring in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, you’re doing a pirate movie–something that hasn’t worked in about 50 years–and it’s based on an amusement park ride?!’ ” the actress told the New York Daily News. The first film made $650 million worldwide and made her a believer.
Club trouble?
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am was being investigated by authorities in a nightclub brawl that broke out at an after-show party in Berlin, police said Friday. From what police know, a fight broke out about 1:30 a.m. Thursday between the club’s doorman and the group’s bodyguard, police spokesman Ronny Frank said. It wasn’t immediately clear how will.i.am was involved, Frank said.
Hot & country
Faith Hill is country music’s most beautiful woman, according to a reader poll in Country Weekly magazine. Rounding out the top five most beautiful women in order were Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride and Shania Twain.
