DVD Review: The September Issue

Posted Feb 24, 2010 by Kevin Walker

Updated Feb 24, 2010 at 05:42 PM

The September Issue
Stars: Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Andre Leon Talley
Director: R.J. Cutler (“Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America”)
The plot: The film follows Vogue editor Wintour and her staff — including creative director Grace Coddington and editor at large Andre Leon Talley — as they prepare the 2007 September issue, an issue that annually sets fashion trends. The film follows the crew from New York to Paris to London and back again as they work on an issue that will break the record for number of pages (more than 800) just before the recession knocked the magazine industry for a loop (the 2009 issue was about 200 pages smaller).
Bottom line: At some point in the documentary, I suddenly felt sorry for Wintour. Yes, she’s the witchy framework upon which author Lauren Weisberger built the editor character for the novel “The Devil Wears Prada,” played by Meryl Streep in the movie. But even Wintour’s own daughter doesn’t understand what she does, calling the fashion world “weird” and incomprehensible and saying she wants nothing to do with it. And then Wintour herself says her siblings are “amused” by what she does. Many of you will be, too, as this movie progresses and you understand the sheer meaninglessness of the entire enterprise. As someone who works in media, the most interesting part to me was watching her staff, particularly the gifted Coddington, dealing with the details of putting out a magazine while also attempting to please the whims of Wintour.
Extras: Tons of deleted and extended scenes with designers, the most interesting of which is a trip to Coddington’s apartment.
Quote: ““My brother and sister are amused by what I do. They are amused.”
90 minutes (PG-13; brief strong profanity)