Review by Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

Imagine B次元官网网址淭he Devil Wears PradaB次元官网网址� on steroids, set in B次元官网网址�70s London, with Anne HathawayB次元官网网址檚 character vengeful rather than sweet. Sounds kind of great, right?

When I first heard about B次元官网网址淐ruella,B次元官网网址� the live-action Disney origin story of the B次元官网网址�101 DalmatiansB次元官网网址� villain Cruella de Vil, I may have rolled my eyes a bit. This is me going back in time to retract that eye-rolling: B次元官网网址淐ruellaB次元官网网址� is an absolute kick, and if youB次元官网网址檝e been looking for a reason to go back to movie theaters, here it is.

ItB次元官网网址檚 coming to streaming platform Disney Plus this weekend.

The fashion alone, designed by the great Jenny Beavan (an Oscar winner for B次元官网网址淎 Room with a ViewB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淢ad Max: Fury RoadB次元官网网址�), is worth the ticket price; if that doesnB次元官网网址檛 do it for you, thereB次元官网网址檚 also slyly brilliant work from the two Emmas B次元官网网址� Stone and Thompson B次元官网网址� working hard to upstage the gorgeous outfits in which theyB次元官网网址檙e swathed.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (B次元官网网址淚, Tonya,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淟ars and the Real GirlB次元官网网址�), B次元官网网址淐ruellaB次元官网网址� feels like a wildly imaginative superhero movie, but with fashion instead of superpowers. (Actually fashion is the superpower.) It begins, as all origin stories do, with a flashback: Young Estella B次元官网网址� Cruella is a teasing nickname her loving mother gives her, for the little girlB次元官网网址檚 dark side B次元官网网址� struggles to fit in as a child, thanks to her two-toned hair and quick temper. Her mother agrees that the two of them should move to London, but something terrible happens on the way.

Fast-forward 15 years or so and Estella (Stone) is an embittered grifter, surviving on her street smarts but dreaming of being a fashion designer. An opportunity at a famous London department store B次元官网网址� LibertyB次元官网网址檚, beautifully handling its star turn B次元官网网址� turns into a job with The Baroness (Thompson), the worldB次元官网网址檚 most famous couturier.

Need I tell you that Stone and Thompson make formidable opponents? Stone, speaking in a dark-syrup British accent, makes Estella/Cruella slightly feral and wickedly smart; sheB次元官网网址檚 got a way of narrowing her eyes at people that makes you worry that they might burst into flames. (At one point, appropriately, she wears a red gown seemingly made of fire.)

Thompson, tottering around under turbans and enormous pastries of hair B次元官网网址� the BaronessB次元官网网址� look is slightly dated; EstellaB次元官网网址檚 is up-to-the-minute London punk B次元官网网址� is a queen whoB次元官网网址檚 scornful of her kingdom. B次元官网网址淕oB次元官网网址� is her most frequent word, delivered witheringly; though I quite liked her clenched-teeth delivery, to a luckless maid, of B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e. In. The Way.B次元官网网址� Though thereB次元官网网址檚 never any doubt who will prevail in this battle of wills B次元官网网址� the movie isnB次元官网网址檛 called B次元官网网址淏aroness,B次元官网网址� after all B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 a fair fight, and you find yourself rooting for both of them.

Crammed full of B次元官网网址�70s music and insanely chic eye candy, B次元官网网址淐ruellaB次元官网网址� is a more-is-more treat, right down to its unexpectedly sweet coda (stick around as the credits start). Bring on the summer movie season! If the rest are as much fun as this B次元官网网址� well, thatB次元官网网址檚 what we all deserve right now, isnB次元官网网址檛 it?

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