Meryl Streep is arguably our best living actress, and she’s by all accounts awesome and interesting and smart, etc. But this mock editorial in the Onion, called “Name One Masterpiece Of Cinema That I’ve Starred In,” by Meryl Streep is really, really on the money.
I know it’s a joke, and that Meryl Streep didn’t really write it, but the very funny piece is totally right. Por ejemplo: “… the name Meryl Streep isn’t really synonymous with one truly unforgettable film. It’s weird to think about, but it’s undeniably true. Go ahead, try and name a classic movie I’ve starred in. Not a classic character I’ve portrayed, mind you, but an overall amazing piece of cinema. You can’t. You just can’t.” Then it runs through some of the Streep filmography:
- Kramer vs. Kramer: “Let’s be honest, Kramer Vs. Kramer isn’t really a masterpiece in the same way that, say, The French Connection or On The Waterfront is a masterpiece.”
- Sophie’s Choice: “I looked at AFI’s top 100 movies list and Sophie’s Choice was No. 91, behind Forrest Gump and The Sixth Sense. And truthfully, all I could say was, ‘That’s about right.’ “
- The Deer Hunter: “[H]ow long was I in the The Deer Hunter? Three, maybe four minutes? Truthfully, I don’t really remember being in the The Deer Hunter at all.”
And so on. I like Adaptation, but that’s not exactly a masterpiece, and Silkwood is interesting, but not really going in the time capsule. I went through her 12 essential roles, and again, she’s great, but none of these projects are modern classics.
PopWatchers! How can this be? What am I missing? Holla (or shout) back, as needed!
“Mamma Mia!” is of course, a modern masterpiece, and it is her “Casablanca.”
Um, really?
I detect sarcasm. :0)
Mamma Mia is the most horrible Meryl Strepp Movie ever made, I don’t even remotely understand how you could call atrocity a masterpiece.
turn on your irony meter and maybe it will all become clear
Stupid people don’t “get” sarcasm. It’s not really irony at all.
Mamma Mia! is my generation’s Casablanca, just ask 35 million fans worldwide. It is so addicted that many of us had seconds and thirds and….
Anyone who can compare Mamma Mia to Casablanca obviously hasn’t been exposed to *real* movies, with talent and plot lines and serious acting. More’s the pity.
Mamma Mia is probably the worst movie of all time. I nearly ran screaming from the theater. I really think Streep is overrated as an actress. Clearly she is very good, but people put her on this pedestal as an acting goddess. I don’t see it. There are lots of actors for which I’ll see a film just because they are in it. With Streep, I need more than just her being in the film to go see it.
The only people who think Streep is overrated are people who haven’t seen her entire body of work. Watch Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, Silkwood, Angels in America (TV), and Adaptation and then come back and state your case.
Mmmmmm. Seen all those and others. Still not convinced. She had very minor roles in 2 of those films, Sophie’s Choice was overrated, and Silkwood was a well done film. I SAID she was very good – just overrated.
Yes people who know far more about acting than any of us put her on a pdestal as the greatest actress ever, they know what they are talking about.
Out of africa?! Heloooooo?
Agreed.
while i wasn’t a particularly huge fan of it, i’d have to agree that this could technically be considered a “masterpiece” the same way “english patient” et al are. no?
“Out of Africa” was a great, romantic epic. “The English Patient” was a too long, boring, piece of crap, only interesting when Juliet Binoche was onscreen. As for the Ralph Fiennes storyline, in the immortal words of Elaine Benes, “Die already!”
Agreed – also didn’t she have an affair with Robert Redford during its filming? Adds to the allure…
I like her playing fun more – The River Wild, Death Becomes Her –
She absorbs herself into every role whether its light and easy or intense (Sophie’s Choice) and melancholy (Bridges of Madison County)
Heloooooo – I can’t believe this! Out of Africa was a boring, bloated (2hr 40min) movie that had nothing but scenery going for it. ALL of the other 4 films nominated in 1985 were better than OoA (The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi’s Honor, Witness). Most think Spielberg was robbed here, but my vote was for Prizzi’s Honor. Do you people have the faintest idea what a “masterpiece” is??? OoA?? Come on – be serious.
“Do you people have the faintest idea what a “masterpiece” is???”
Do you ? Kiddo a masterpiece is something that is considered a masterpiece by people who’s opinions actually matter on the subject- critics, actors, actresses, producers, directors, etc.
If Out of Africa was “boring, bloated,” then you missed the very thing that makes it a masterpiece. This is an epic held together not by plot mechanics and gunfire but by seven masterful cinematic sequences that explore the theme of possession and how a woman who defines herself and others by her possessions has to redefine her world over her 17 years in Africa in the face of a series of devastating losses. This is a long film, yes, but it is also a quiet, magnificent, romantic masterpiece. You just may like “guy” films more.
Loved both of those movies! Both based on intriguing books, btw. I do fault Redford in “Africa” for playing an Englishman with an American accent, however … not a cinematic crime you could ever charge Streep with!
Yeah, the only people qualified to call a movie a “Masterpiece” are experts who have the patience to sit through an (at least) 2-and-a-half hour snoozefest without falling asleep. But remember, the true definition of an “Expert” is somebody who knows everything about ONE thing, while knowing nothing about anything else.
Personally, I’d rather listen to music than sit through a boring “masterpiece” – I don’t have the patience to be a movie “expert”, nor do I want to be.
So, interestingly enough “Out of Africa”is memorable to me for its music.
Agree. I think “Out of Africa” (which happens to be one of my all time favorits) is a close to a “Classic” as you’re going to get where Meryl is concerned. She’s great in everything, but that one is a cinematic masterpiece!
The Deer Hunter. The fact that feels she wasn’t in it for long is such selfish egotistical crap. Is she implying that it can’t be considered a masterpiece becasue she wasn’t the lead?
Wow…it’s a piece in the Onion, La Streep did not write this herself.
No Ward, “she’s” not saying anything, it’s a face article. Fake Meryl is implying that the fact that her very very brief presence in The Deer Hunter was not a factor in making it a classic.
She’s saying it’s a good movie but she’s looking for a masterpiece that SHE was in, and according to her standards she wasn’t really in it.
P.S. It’s a satirical article. Ms. Streep didn’t really write it,
Out of Africa!!!! OMG…amazing movie…amazing cinematography, amazing acting and Robert Redford!!!
She is in Woody Allen’s 1979 masterpiece, Manhattan. Yes, her part is not a big one, but the film is a masterpiece nonetheless.
I think it counts. We didn’t get the movie until 1981, but it won the Beppie (our Oscar) for Best Picture. So, she has been in a masterpiece, although she did not star…
Manhattan…granted she only has a small role, but it is a masterpiece
thank you for mentioning Manhattan!!!
Keil, you looking over my shoulder? and yes – we should mention Out Of Africa, that is a real masterpiece lord
Hello? Sophie’s Choice anyone?
Sophie’s Choice — I was bored out of my skull — I kept hoping she would go to the gas chamber.
I’m wondering if Joann has a soul…
Though Ms. Streep did not “star” in this film, she did play a rather important role (only a couple of scenes, but nevertheless a lasting impression) in arguably Woody Allen’s greatest film (or at least in the top three), “Manhattan”. It is without a doubt his most beautiful film in regards to cinematography, contains some of his best lines (Yale: “You think you’re God!” Isaac: “I gotta model myself after somebody”), and is one of the greatest love letters to New York City ever put on film. Yes, this film was 30 years ago, and it is highly unlikely that anyone would call this a “Meryl Streep” film, but it is nevertheless a masterpiece, and without her performance as the vindictive (in Woody’s eyes) ex-wife, the film would not be the same.
Let’s try to keep in mind that Meryl Streep did not really write the column, people. It’s satire. But I agree – I love Deer Hunter and Adaptation, though.
Oh my Satan, I laughed so hard at this because it is ALMOST true, but like Anni said: OUT OF AFRICA people!!! total masterpiece.
omS— that is funny as hell just for your “omS”. I’m stealing it
Out of Africa.
Yeah, I am definitely on the “Out of Africa = masterpiece” train. I’ll give you that the blue screen is off and Robert Redford leaves a bit to be desired, but honestly it’s a beautiful movie. It’s not its fault that it was released the same year as “Ran”.
Out of Africa is far from a masterpiece. Manhattan most def. is. Adaptation is close.
um, the River Wild? HELLO?!? Plus, it’s only one degree of Kevin Bacon.
One degree of Kevin Bacon?? LOL