And, even I'm surprised.

In one of the first scenes of The September Issue, Andre Leon Talley, the fabulously entertaining Vogue editor-at-large, laments Fashion Week that season was a "famine of beauty." He is sitting around a conference table with Anna Wintour and Vera Wang, who nod their heads in shared disappointment.

This set the tone for a film that was informative--sure--but also really fun!

Before seeing the movie (which will be out in New York on August 28, and in Los Angeles and select cities on September 11), I knew little of Vogue editor Anna Wintour beyond what I had seen in The Devil Wears Prada. And, being that movie is--at least allegedly--fiction, such hardly counted.

I do know, obviously, that she is one of the most powerful "fashions" in fashion. She, with the nod of her head, has the power to make or break careers. And while some think that makes her an ice queen, I think that makes her sort of ... awesome.

The September Issue, though, gave me a whole new insight into Anna--as an editor, yes, but also as a really fabulous woman. The movie is essentially a reality-based biopic which follows Anna throughout the making of the September issue of Vogue, a season-setting fashion bible that topped over 800 pages.

In a rare glimpse inside the "icy" Anna's world--a universe where her word is paramount to scripture--we learn it's not all about sitting on her perch. Her own family thinks fashion is silly, and she works alongside a staff that even while having a grudging respect, grumble behind her back. She's also expected to know the answer to everything, always, and never be wrong. Even for the queen of fashion, that's a tall order. At one point in the film, a Neiman Marcus board member complains that designers deliver their clothing too slowly, and she should do something to help them. Anna responds, "What do you want me to do? Rent a truck?"

In one scene Tom Florio, the publisher of the mag, says, "She's busy. And, she's not warm and friendly." And that's just the point. She has created an empire. What more do people want from her?! Anna points out in one scene that people assume that because one cares about fashion, they are dumb. And that they make this character assassination mostly because they, themselves, do not understand, or downright fear fashion as an entity. I think she may be right.

Just for giggles, here's the video of Anna Wintour on Letterman last night to illustrate another point. She's really witty! I am, officially, a fan.

Image credit: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

--Aly Walansky