By now Mary Louise Streep -- Meryl to you -- has a mantel with almost enough trophies as a chess board has pieces. The 15-time Academy Awars nominee (a record), has two Oscars, two Emmys, six Golden Globes and, now, two Screen Actors Guild awards. Sunday night she won the mate for her first SAG statuette for her work as Sister Aloysius in "Doubt." Streep, who turns 60 this year, was dressed in street clothes and genuinely stunned to get the award that everyone predicted Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road") would win. (Winslet did get a supporting prize for "The Reader.") Without a speech prepared, La Streep delivered a hilarious stemwinder of about five minutes that was a high point of the awards ceremony. How gracious was she in suggesting the assembled to give Viola Davis, her co-star, "her own movie"? If there were awards for awards speeches, this would get one.
From the giddy frivolity of "Mamma Mia!" to the steely sobriety of "Doubt," Streep had quite a 2008. In the past she has incarnated writers Isak Dinesen ("Out of Africa"), Nora Ephron ("Heartburn"), Carrie Fisher ("Postcards from the Edge") and Susan Orlean ("Adaptation"), whistleblower Karen Silkwood ("Silkwood"), a thinly-veiled Anna Wintour ("The Devil Wears Prada") as well as the formidable Sophie of "Sophie's Choice" and the heroine of "The French Lieutenant's Woman." In 2009 she will be Julia Child in Ephron's "Julia and Julia" and also appear in an untitled Nancy Meyers comedy.
Streep has revealed so many facets of woman that it's hard to name a favorite performance. For her ability to plumb the tragedy in comedy and vice-versa, my favorites are "Silkwood," "Sophie," "Prada" and "Adaptation."
Your favorite Streeps? Why?
I enjoy her performance in "Postcards From the Edge." Her relationships with Richard Dreyfuss, Dennis Quaid, and Shirley MacLaine are each given a distinct personality and it's apparent the fun that Streep's having playing with these talented actors. Even a quick throwaway scene with Annette Bening has spark and flavor. Among the movies you mentioned, her work in "The Devil Wears Prada" stands out for me. I think if I read the script, her character would be even more of a bogeyman than what we see on screen. It's purely through Streep's acting that her character is given complexity and shadings, and in fact ends up being in many ways the most sympathetic in the movie - notwithstanding all her nastiness. (If nothing else, it's clear that Streep's editor appreciates Anne Hathaway more than her schlub of a boyfriend ever does.) I'm also very much looking forward to the Julia Childs movie. I'm a big Amy Adams fan and I'm hopeful that this movie will give both actresses good, fun roles.— wwolfe- I loved Meryl's impromtu speech, the way she just wings it and laughs at herself, and that she didn't bother to wear a dress, when designers still fall all over her to wear their stuff (Isaac Mizrahi.) AND, she brought her daughter to the awards. As for favorites, too many to choose.— Chatham Bette
- Certainly in "The Devil Wears Prada" she brought several dimensions to a one-dimensional villainess. Her 1980s films had very rich scripts which gave her the opprtunity for very nuanced work. She brings that nuance to one-dimensional material.— carrierickey
- Impromptu acceptance speech.— Chatham Bette
- Without a doubt, her work in A Cry in the Dark remains my favorite.— edwardcopeland
- Her most underrated and superior performance was as Karen Silkwood in 1983's "Silkwood." What a performance and to this day the most overlooked of her career. She should've won an Oscar. Bold,touching,sad,humorous,determined,and multi-layered performance by Streep.— phillyfunk
Comment removed.- My favorite Streep role is that of Sarah Woodruff in "The French Lieutenant's Woman". Her interaction with Jeremy Irons is priceless!— DG19075
- I retain affection for her "Death Becomes Her" performance. Somehow, the closer Streep is to a Tragic Heroine in a Film of Importance ... the less I want to see her.— chris schneider
- I commend (command?) you to re-watch "Silkwood" or "Sophie's Choice," -- amazing, three-dimensional performances. Her curse is to be a multidimensional actress in a universe of one-dimensional scripts, but I agree, she's very wry with comedy.— carrierickey
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