Downsizing Streep

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Mark Adnum, the Australian writer and editor of Outrate, has thoroughly explained why giving a Best Actress Oscar to Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia is a bad idea.

"Putting fandom and loyalty aside," he writes, "does anyone really think that her performance in Julie and Julia is so great that it needs to be recognized with the same prize given to her work in Sophie's Choice? Giving Streep an Oscar for a performance that can't hold a candle to those that she deservedly won for -- as Dustin Hoffman's unstable young wife in Kramer vs. Kramer and as the undead Auschwitz survivor who makes her ghostly way through a doomed new life in Sophie's Choice -- would only undermine her Oscar legacy."

I'm sensing that the Streep yacht is taking on water and listing to the side. The sleek Mulligan sailfish, as Tony Curtis once said, is in "ship-ship-shape." And the Bullock schooner -- representing the Best Actress contender favored by hinterland women and their go-along husbands -- is catching the big gusts.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 9, 2010 at 4:20 PM

comment #1

Phreaker says ...

Seriously, did someone in this paradigm forget who is actually going to win Best Actress this year? You should spend all of your time trying to massacre Sandra Bullock. She is what stands between your crush and the Oscar.

Posted by Phreaker at February 9, 2010 4:54 PM

comment #2

Ray DeRousse says ...

Streep was the best thing in that movie. I also wouldn't mind seeing her nominated for one of her more comedic and effervescent roles like her Julia here, because Streep has awesome comic timing and a gift for playing comedy in subtle, character-driven tones.

However, if Streep were given another Oscar, I'd rather that she won belatedly for her performance in A Cry In The Dark, which she dominated.

Posted by Ray DeRousse at February 9, 2010 4:56 PM

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

If an underfed and overhyped British child without much to distinguish herself from the ingenues who've come before wins for a good performance in a decent film, the hinterland women and their go-along husbands will rightfully rise up and storm the gates. Want to solve everyone's problem, reward singularity, and help make the Oscars relevant again: give it to Sidibe.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 9, 2010 5:17 PM

comment #4

Phreaker says ...

Yay BurmaShave! Totally agree.

Posted by Phreaker at February 9, 2010 6:48 PM

comment #5

LexG says ...

Yeah, because Sidibe has such a huge big-screen career ahead of her, they need to award a lottery-winner-level fluke over real actresses.

Seems like a nice a kid and all, but her cinematic prospects are basically Jennifer Hudson minus the singing career (though I'd almost put money down that Sidibe will DROP an album at some point.)

Also, her performance basically = crying and pouting.

Posted by LexG at February 9, 2010 8:37 PM

comment #6

YND says ...

If it needs to be said, the Best Actress race this year just blows. I'm seeing the Mirren film this weekend, but having seen the other 4... yeesh. Mulligan's easily the best of the lot, but it's a pretty lousy lot.

I love Streep, but saying that her performance is the best thing in that awful film is hardly praise. I've never been someone to play the "it's an impression, not a performance" card... but there you have it. Was I the only one who caught the irony of the film making dramatic hay out of the idea that Amy Adams' Julie only knew the book-version of Julia Child -- the perfect, even-tempered, 2-dimensional Julia? 'Cause they're basically pointing out that it's all Streep was given to play. I didn't care for anything about PRECIOUS, so Sidibe's fine, appropriate performance didn't do anything special for me. And there's no way anyone *without* a hometown-girl-makes-good story like Sandra Bullock's would've ever gotten award attention for THE BLIND SIDE.

Considering the field this year, I'd have been really pleased to see Zoe Saldana up for AVATAR. If Cameron reaps the accolades for developing the technology, why not throw some laurels her way for mastering the use of it to create a full-bodied performance? There were some great female performances in foreign language films (THE HEADLESS WOMAN, LORNA'S SILENCE). And, though she never had a chance in hell, Charlotte Gainsbourg gave the best female performance I saw this year (in lead or supporting categories) in ANTICHRIST.

Posted by YND at February 9, 2010 9:13 PM

comment #7

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Nothing will top giving it to Scorsese for THE DEPARTED, so they could do worse...

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at February 9, 2010 11:04 PM

comment #8

Gordon27 says ...

"Also, her performance basically = crying and pouting."

That's ridiculous; she has an incredibly well performed character arc, and it becomes even more amazing when you see her in real life and she's nothing like that. Come on, man, if you're really an actor, you can't dismiss what she did like that.

However, I agree with you that her movie career prospects are fairly limited; I think her best bet is getting a sitcom somewhere.

Posted by Gordon27 at February 9, 2010 11:37 PM

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Posted by villaggi isola d'elba at February 9, 2010 11:57 PM

comment #10

K. Bowen says ...

I would bet they've been waiting for a great performance in a great film to give No. 2 to Streep. You know how that goes.

Posted by K. Bowen at February 10, 2010 3:59 AM

comment #11

Noiresque says ...

It is a real pity that Nicole Kidman - one year post-Cruise and first nomination for Moulin Rouge - got the gongs for The Hours, because the film belonged to Streep. The outstanding performances in the film were by supporting actors - Jeff Daniels, Toni Collette, Stephen Dillane and Miranda Richardson. In fact, there were very few duds among the cast except for John C. Reilly and Ed Harris. But among all that, Meryl was the glue that held everything in place.

Posted by Noiresque at February 10, 2010 4:43 AM

comment #12

Phreaker says ...

If it were me it would be Sidibe all the way. Also, it's always nice to see an upset at the Oscars.

Re: Zoe Saldana - Neytiri is computer-generated fantasy figure and thus, Saldana utterly disappears. Who cares, the movie made two billion or whatever, so it's pointless to discuss "what should have been done" in order to secure Oscars.

Posted by Phreaker at February 10, 2010 5:54 AM

comment #13

Vernon Hardapple says ...

Noiresque:

Ed Harris was not a dud in The Hours. FAR from it.

That was some of his best work in years. Clearly, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Posted by Vernon Hardapple at February 10, 2010 8:17 AM

comment #14

raygo says ...

Streep was better comedically in The Devil Wears Prada. A real scenery chewing performance. YND said it best, that Streep's Julia Child is fairly two-dimensional ... the back story to Amy Adam's character. It's a supporting role, and should have been labeled as one, just like Adaptation (for which she should have won).

Posted by raygo at February 10, 2010 9:34 AM

comment #15

Vernon Hardapple says ...

Streep was stellar in Adaptation, Raygo. Thanks for mentioning it.

Posted by Vernon Hardapple at February 10, 2010 9:41 AM

comment #16

BurmaShave says ...

Lex, sometimes you really let your randyness get in the way. A woman can give a great performance without being attractive. I know your thing is "What's the point of that!", but there is.

As for your other point, I suppose we shouldn't have given Oscars to Haing Ngor or Linda Hunt either... Or even F. Murray Abraham for that matter. Potential for future career has nothing to do with it.

Oh also Vernon, THE HOURS sucks. Really really sucks. One of the worst films of the decade, and guilty of all the misogyny and homophobia hurled at so much films not guilty of it. Everyone involved should be ashamed of it, and probably are, based on how little it's spoken of anymore. Also Kidman's Oscar for it is undeniably a joke, even if I didn't hate it. By a nose, indeed.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 10, 2010 10:02 AM

comment #17

Vernon Hardapple says ...

Hey Burma, do they offer reading comprehension classes in your part of the world?

I said, "Ed Harris was not a dud in The Hours". Did I say anything about liking The Hours as a whole? No.

Posted by Vernon Hardapple at February 10, 2010 12:02 PM

comment #18

BurmaShave says ...

yeah, true, but I'm never not going to hate on that movie. And I actually thought Harris was pretty bad, going through all the gay guy in AIDs squalor motions. His nod should have gone to Quaid or Liotta.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 10, 2010 4:07 PM

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comment #20

Noiresque says ...

Vernon - You are so rude.

Burma - "actually thought Harris was pretty bad, going through all the gay guy in AIDs squalor motions. His nod should have gone to Quaid or Liotta. I agree with this (though Haysbert was would be my substitute). Ed Harris gets into the costumes and outer layers of his characters, but internally they rarely gel. And the scene in which he sits in the window pane was really poorly directed and acted. His nomination in this film reminds me of in The Truman Show in which he wore a black beret and mugged like mad.

Posted by Noiresque at February 11, 2010 7:45 AM

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comment #23

german shorthaired pointer says ...

Oh yea also Vernon, THAT HOURS sucks. Truly truly sucks. On the list of worst type of videos in the 10 years, in addition to responsible skin color misogyny in addition to homophobia hurled from so much videos not responsible regarding the idea. All people involved needs to be embarrassed regarding the idea, in addition to possibly tend to be, determined by just how minor it really is verbal regarding ever again. Also Kidman's Oscar for it is actually indisputably fiction, whether or not POST didn't detest the idea. With a nasal area, certainly. beaglier

Posted by german shorthaired pointer at January 19, 2011 8:50 PM

comment #24

steve says ...

I will be neutral only. do not support or denounce it. just only read. thanks

Posted by steve at January 30, 2011 9:54 PM

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Posted by luolujo at April 4, 2011 8:47 PM

comment #26

Termites says ...

The most unforgettable Meryl Streep movie I've watched to date was Out of Africa. Since then, Streep mostly has played women-with-authority roles. I'd like to see another romantic character fleshed by her again, if that was possible....

Posted by Termites at April 22, 2011 9:56 PM

comment #27