30 Day Movie Challenge - Day 20

[trinityvixen]

It's been nothing but hustle and bustle here today. Our lab has literally doubled in size, and all the new people need separate things and need to train on different procedures, and, naturally, we have a fuse blown that delayed stuff and ARGH MEME TIME.

Day 20 - Your favorite actress

This shouldn't be a surprise, really. There's absolutely no one like her, even among her peer group. Annette Benning is good. So is Julianne Moore. So's Susan Sarandon. But nobody is Meryl fucking Streep. Unlike Matt Damon, I do watch movies because Meryl Streep is in them. I wouldn't have ever watched Out of Africa or, God help me, The Devil Wears Prada without her. (Mamma Mia! I would have watched even if the lead had been, like, age-make-up-wearing Lindsey Lohan.) She is transformative in every role. EVERY. ROLE.

And she can do ANY role. You want comedy? She walked off with It's Complicated despite starring against the also hilarious Alec Baldwin. I thought she was a riot in Julie and Julia, where she was not only a different kind of funny, she was an entirely different person. Entirely. Like, I could draw a connection between performances as other actors evolve, but Meryl Streep would be a zig-zag. She does everything and does it always, always different. And it is always, always spectacular. Even when it's meant to be a smaller, more inward performance, she manages to deliver that and still be fabulous.

Know what's sad? I thought of at least three other women Meryl Streep's age who I think  are phenomenal actresses. I can't think of any that are my age that I would say the same about. Meryl Streep is amazing, but she also benefits from having come of age in a time when there were actually roles for women in cinema as opposed to slots--you know, the "girlfriend" slot, or the "evil slut sidekick to the villain" slot or the "victim" slot. Are there women whose work I like who are younger than 60? Yes. I thought and still think that Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer, from Battlestar Galactica, are fantastic actresses. There are several women, especially on BBC shows, that I like. But movie stars? Maybe Natalie Portman. (It depends on the project she chooses, and her taste...wavers.)

Day 01
Day 02
Day 03 - 06
Day 07
Day 08
Day 09
Day 10
Day 11-13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17-19

Comments

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, the image that you are using is not the one you think you are using.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

You may want to take that photo down. Pronto.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Funny. It's still showing up as Meryl for me. What was it?

(Changed it btw.)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Done and done.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

It was flashing red saying "CONTENT THIEF CONTENT THIEF." Also, it may show up fine for you because your computer cached it.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, I'm a hotlinking asshole. Awesome. The way you and jethrien reacted, I was about to panic that I'd thrown up, like, a Swastika by accident.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Now I don't see it at all, FYI. Half the time the images you link don't show up.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I should just stop with the images already. I clearly don't have the LEET skillz-with-a-z to use them anyway.

[negativeq.livejournal.com]

My introduction to Meryl Streep was her narration of "Peter Rabbit". I was still in the single digits. She was excellent. To this day, she is Peter Rabbit Lady to me.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I definitely think Meryl Streep is a great actress, but I can't say she's my favorite. But I also couldn't tell you who was. Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn, probably, from the classics. But modern-day? Who I would watch in anything?

Actually, scratch that. I do know who it is.

Emma Thompson.

Comedy. Drama. Romance. Historical. Doesn't matter. She's brilliant and I'll watch her in anything.

Now we just need her to do a movie with Meryl Streep. :)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Emma Thompson was, in fact, my second choice. Again, an older woman who was allowed to have a goddamned character (instead of a "role") ever in her life. Not that she didn't walk away with the picture, just that she did get goddamned people to play. She's so devastating in Wit. I cried my eyes out and then had to run to throw on Much Ado About Nothing so I could laugh again.

I need to see more of Katherine Hepburn in her age. Her younger self is fun, but a bit tiresome for me after a while. But I could see her age into her wit really well. (Kind of like how Robert Downey Jr did.)

Meryl Streep is not really my favorite, she's just someone I enjoy more than others, does that make sense? She's objectively better than 90% of the actresses working today, even the ones who get juicy roles. I'm not a booster for the Meryl Streep fanclub, but I'll sing her praises. She's just the best and most enjoyable female performer I can think of whose work I consistently like. It's like me picking Matt Damon. I wouldn't even have thought of him, but he is in lots of things I like and is always good. I guess that makes him--and Meryl--my favorites.

If we could find a reason to get Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep together, I'd cry with joy.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The first movie I saw with Meryl Streep was Death Becomes Her. Silly movie, excellent Meryl Streep performance as ever. She's just so perfect at being her characters. Each time I watch another movie with her, I exclaim all over again over her.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I think Streep and Thompson are far more versatile than the two Hepburns, honestly. But then, range isn't really a requirement for "favorite," just enjoyment.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

"Content thief"? Boy, do they have your number. :P

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Hah! They don't even have any idea.