Film: The Devil Wears Patagonia
As thousands anticipate the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2, we’re turning our eyes toward a thematically more intriguing title: The Devil Wears Patagonia. Set in the fictional town of Beartooth, Montana (just 37 miles from the fictional Dutton Ranch in the hit show Yellowstone), the film follows the experiences of an eager-to-please intern at a small, underfunded outdoor magazine.
When Vera Lyesse shows up to her first day, she’s momentarily discouraged by the cramped, dusty office, smelling faintly of methane and littered with old magazines, two blood-stained Bird scooters, and a yellowing “Women of the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation 2012” pin-up calendar. Her small corner desk is adorned with a typewriter, rolling papers, a small Zen sand garden doubling as an ashtray, a plastic school chair with a torn PFD as a seat cushion, and an “official” press pass made in Microsoft Paint. Most alarming is the list of lewd terminology pinned to the wall—jugs, boofing, roadie, squirting, crack, nut tool, bonk, stroke, ripping lip, chainsuck, pumping big meat—which she only learns later is a cheat-sheet of esoteric outdoor-sports lingo.
Vera’s financial situation plummets immediately, as she succumbs to a scammer and drains her bank account purchasing Dollar Tree gift cards for a Nigerian man posing as her boss. Things soon improve, however, as she gets to know the skeleton crew that keeps the copy flowing and the presses hot. She finds both inspiration and motivation in this dedicated six-man team that endures long hours, low pay, and scathing criticism from an increasingly entitled, out-of-touch local citizenry, all for the love of the game.
Working directly under the notoriously tyrannical Michelle Edmond, Vera struggles to justify the emotional turmoil for her meager compensation, which is little more than monthly allotments of technical gear for sports she lacks the time and knowledge to pursue. Even as her personal life crumbles, though, she remains loyal to the magazine, writing bylines she takes pride in and slowly learning the ropes of independent print publishing—all while Michelle, who acts as if she attended Strunk & White’s Elements of Style Charm School, mercilessly berates her for using dangling modifiers and misplaced apostrophes.
In the end, will Vera stand up for herself and confront her boss, or will she be squeezed into submission? Will she wait for the next Arc’teryx puffy line to drop, so she can get a free sample, or will she settle for a lightly-used Columbia pajama-pant from the secondhand store? Will she recount her tragic tale on Reddit 10 years later, seeking to soothe her ongoing insecurities? Find out on April 1, when the film is released.
