I’ve read Lauren Weisberger’s novel — it’s frothy, low-cal fun — but I was still surprised by the film version. They’ve reworked the book thoroughly, giving it a clearer, more direct plot and stronger secondary characters. It’s a rare case in which the film is actually better than the book.

The story of how the fresh and innocent Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) copes in the bitchy, image-obsessed world of New York magazines is funny and decidedly lightweight. The one factor that pushes this film into the “recommended” category is Meryl Streep, who’s virtuosic as the boss from Hades. When she’s onscreen this is truly a good movie. Could it be that Streep is actually getting better as an actress?