The 17 Best Movies About Magazines
The boss asked me to compile a list of movies about or adjacent to magazines. So, using an intricate, research-based methodology conferred upon me by my college education (aka Google), I have done so. By Ali Dening
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
I watch a lot of movies. Movie literacy is part of a classical education. When my boss asked me to make a list of the best movies ever made, I was locked and loaded. “As you wish,” I replied, ready to extoll the virtues of The Princess Bride and unpack the subtle, sophisticated humor of Spaceballs.
Turns out he wanted a different kind of list—one about magazines. Who would have guessed? That meant Spaceballs was right out, unless there happened to be a Spaceballs: The Magazine (There is. It’s only $2,500 on eBay).
My expertise on this particular subgenre being limited, I turned to Rotten Tomatoes for synopses and scores. That means if the rankings are bullshit, it’s not my fault.
1. Spotlight (2015)
Synopsis: In 2001, editor Marty Baron of The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations against John Geoghan, an defrocked priest accused of molesting more than 80 boys. Led by editor Walter “Robby” Robinson, reporters Michael Rezendes, Matt Carroll, and Sacha Pfeiffer interview victims and try to unseal sensitive documents. The reporters make it their mission to provide proof of a cover-up of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.
Stars: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo.
Score: 93%
Media connection: The plot is loosely based on a series of stories by the Spotlight team that earned The Boston Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
2. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Synopsis: This classic romantic comedy focuses on Tracy Lord, a Philadelphia socialite who has split from her husband, C.K. Dexter Haven, due both to his drinking and to her overly demanding nature. As Tracy prepares to wed the wealthy George Kittredge, she crosses paths with both Dexter and prying reporter Macaulay Connor. Unclear about her feelings for all three men, Tracy must decide whom she truly loves.
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, John Howard, James Stewart.
Score: 93%
Media connection: The plot centers around a fictional magazine called Spy.
3. Almost Famous (2000)
Synopsis: Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William, an unabashed music fan who is inspired by the seminal bands of the time. When his love of music lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater—fronted by lead guitar Russell Hammond and lead singer Jeff Bebe William embarks on an eye-opening journey with the band’s tour, despite the objections of his protective mother.
Stars: Kate Hudson, Billy Krudup.
Score: 92%
Media connection: Tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone in the 1970s.
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Synopsis: Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.
Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro, Gary Busey.
Score: 89%
Media connection: The story first appeared in a two-part series in Rolling Stone in 1971 before eventually being adapted into film.
5. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Synopsis: At the start of the new year, 32-year-old Bridget decides it's time to take control of her life—and start keeping a diary. Now, the most provocative, erotic and hysterical book on her bedside table is the one she's writing. With a taste for adventure, and an opinion on every subject—from exercise to men to food to sex and everything in between—she's turning the page on a whole new life.
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant.
Score: 81%
Magazine connection: The story started out as a column in The Independent on Sunday.
6. Shattered Glass (2003)
Synopsis: Young hotshot journalist Stephen Glass puts on a good show for his adoring editor, Michael Kelly, but admits deep insecurities to his fellow writer, Caitlin Avey. When Glass begins turning in outrageous stories, his popularity skyrockets, but rival journalist Charles Lane becomes suspicious as to their factual accuracy, and eventually discovers that Glass has been fabricating many of his sources.
Stars: Hayden Christensen, Hank Azaria, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard.
Score: 79%
Media connection: Based on a true story about a journalist who made up stories for The New Republic.
7. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Synopsis: An advice columnist, Andie Anderson, tries pushing the boundaries of what she can write about in her new piece about how to get a man to leave you in 10 days. Her editor, Lana, loves it, and Andie goes off to find a man she can use for the experiment. Enter executive Ben Berry, who is so confident in his romantic prowess that he thinks he can make any woman fall in love with him in 10 days. When Andie and Ben meet, their plans backfire.
Stars: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Bebe Neuwirth
Score: 77%
Media connection: Andie Anderson is a writer for the women’s magazine Composure.
8. Sex and the City (2008)
Synopsis: Four years after the earlier adventures of Carrie Bradshaw and her best gal pals, she and her intermittent lover, Big, are in a committed relationship. Samantha, having survived cancer, has a monogamous relationship with Smith Jerrod. Charlotte and her husband live on Park Avenue, and Miranda, now in Brooklyn, feels the pressure of family life.
Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Noth, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon.
Score: 77%
Media connection: The main character aspires to a career in fashion journalism, and her editor is based on a real, high-ranking Vogue editor.
9. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Synopsis: Andy is a recent college graduate with big dreams. Upon landing a job at prestigious Runway magazine, she finds herself the assistant to diabolical editor Miranda Priestly. Andy questions her ability to survive her grim tour as Miranda's whipping girl without getting scorched.
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep.
Score: 76%
Media: The plot is centered around a fictional magazine called Runway, inspired by the writer’s time working at Vogue.
10. The French Dispatch (2021)
Synopsis: The French Dispatch brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in a fictional 20th-century French city.
Stars: Bill Murray, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Owen Wilson.
Score: 76%
Media connection: The French Dispatch is a fictional publication that features stories from American writers living in France. It is inspired by The New Yorker.
11. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Synopsis: While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones grows familiar with the “Diary of a Housewife” column written by Elizabeth Lane. Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley, for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Yardley hastens to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up single, non-domestic Elizabeth on a country farm.
Stars: Dennis Morgan, Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Greenstreet.
Score: 75%
Media connection: Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a columnist for Smart Housekeeping: The Magazine for Aspiring Homemakers.
12. The September Issue (2009)
Synopsis: Each September, fashion mavens look forward to getting their hands on a copy of Vogue magazine's autumn issue. Filmmaker R.J. Cutler gains unprecedented access to the inner workings of this fashion bible, as legendary editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and her staff carry out the massive preparations necessary to produce the issue.
Director: R.J. Cutler
Score: 71%
Media connection: This is a documentary about Vogue.
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Synopsis: A girl who's sick of the social strictures of junior high is transformed into a grownup overnight. In this feel-good fairy tale, teenager Jenna wants a boyfriend, and when she's unable to find one, she fantasizes about being a well-adjusted adult. Suddenly, her secret desire becomes a reality, and she is transformed into a 30-year-old. But adulthood, with its own set of male-female challenges, isn't as easy as it looks.
Stars: Christa B. Allen, Jennifer Garner.
Score: 71%
Media connection: The protagonist edits a fictional fashion magazine called Poise.
14. Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
Synopsis: In 1968, drug-addled journalist Hunter S. Thompson covers the drug possession trial of a group of young people defended by Thompson’s old friend Carl Lazlo. After Lazlo loses the case, the idealistic lawyer and the cynical writer go their separate ways, but meet again five years later while Thompson is covering the Super Bowl. Now a revolutionary who has abandoned the legal system, Lazlo attempts to get Thompson to join his cause.
Stars: Bill Murray, Peter Boyle.
Score: 73%
Media connection: The plot follows a writer trying to write an article for Blast, a fictional magazine based on real-life Rolling Stone.
15. Trainwreck
Synopsis: Ever since her father drilled into her head that monogamy isn't realistic, magazine writer Amy has made promiscuity her credo. As much as she enjoys an uninhibited life free of commitment, Amy is really in a rut. While writing a profile about charming and successful sports doctor Aaron Conners, she finds herself actually falling in love for the first time, and what's more, Aaron seems to like her too. Amy starts to wonder if it's time to clean up her act.
Stars: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, John Cena, Pete Davidson, Tilda Swinton.
Score: 66%
Media connection: The plot follows a writer for a raunchy fictional men’s magazine called S’nuff.
16. The Women (2008)
Synopsis: Clothing designer Mary Haines appears to have it all: a beautiful home in Connecticut, a successful husband, a lovely daughter, and the support of a close circle of friends—led by magazine editor Sylvie Fowler. When Mary learns her husband is cheating, her pals rally around her. But his infidelity does not compare to the betrayal Mary feels when Sylvie spills the beans about the affair to a gossip columnist she wants to hire for her magazine.
Stars: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening.
Score: 37%
Media connection: The plot revolves around a fictional fashion magazine called Sylvie.
17. Perfect (1985)
Synopsis: A Rolling Stone reporter seduces an aerobics instructor while doing a story on health clubs for singles.
Stars: John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Score: 29%
Media connection: Based on a series of Rolling Stone articles from the late ’70s about health clubs among single people.
SYNOPSES FROM ©ROTTEN TOMATOES
