Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Christina Applegate Lifetime movie spoof

This was fun.  Funny or Die has featured Christina Applegate in a mock trailer for a Lifetime movie entitled 'Meryl.'



I particularly enjoyed the trouble she had with the crucifix in the scene from Doubt and her cat-like soprano in Mama Mia!  I always enjoy references to Meryl, even if it's silly.

7 comments:

  1. Long Winded PessimistSeptember 2, 2015 at 9:35 PM

    I enjoy stuff like this too Jeff. And I guess I'll start reading The Good House as soon as I have time (I love autumn!)- though then I'll probably be just as desperate as you are for it to actually come to fruition... and I'm already frustrated enough waiting for any kind of film project news... It just seems like Meryl's career and reputation has been going downhill since the Iron Lady while her peers (Blanchett, Moore, etc) just seem to be going up and getting a constant stream of good projects. Don't get me wrong, I like Blanchett and Moore too but I'd like to see the same success for Meryl... I mean it was just announced that Blanchett is getting a Lucille Ball biopic with Sorkin- while Meryl's doing lowbrow stuff like Ricki. I just want another universally praised performance... it's been years since she's had one and we all know she has it in her if she could just get involved in a better project.

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    1. Ok time for a little tough love again. Let's consider Meryl's career since The Iron Lady. Keep in mind, while the film was somewhat panned, Meryl's performance in that film was raved. She got great reviews for Hope Springs, the film made money and was well-received by critics. August: Osage County was probably one of the most anticpated roles for someone of Meryl's generation of the entire decade. It disappointed many, but still earned Meryl an Oscar nod. Into the Woods got good reviews, Meryl great reviews, and made a ton of money at the box office. Ricki surpassed its budget, it's "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes and provided Meryl the opportunity to transform herself into someone we've never seen before. Florence Foster Jenkins looks like it could be splendid on paper. Many opportunities that make me excited for what's to come.

      Totally start reading The Good House! It'll go fast. I need more feedback from Streep fans on what they think of it.

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  2. Long Winded PessimistSeptember 2, 2015 at 10:47 PM

    I just feel like the so called "world's greatest actress" should be in one of the "world's greatest movies" for once- for all her talent, almost all her movies are chalked up as mediocre (despite continually stellar performances). Meryl is so revered and yet almost all her films are deemed forgettable by the film community and I'm tired of it. So many lesser actresses are getting good roles in better movies while Meryl is never in critically acclaimed, best picture films these days. I mean I understand most best picture nominees unfortunately don't feature a woman in a leading role, but couldn't Meryl be an exception with all her talent? Lets face it, Meryl's getting older and I want her filmography to include more films that will actually be remembered once she's gone. I'm someone who thinks long term and I think it's a shame that Meryl doesn't have more classics/masterpieces to her name. And come on, Ricki is going down as a flop and will quickly be forgotten- it barely surpassed its low production budget- I don't see any way it'll make the money to cover the budget for the abysmal marketing.
    Anyways, I'll read The Good House and let you know what I think! I know the book is popular but the amount of time it's taking for the project to come together is a bad sign. If the script was actually good wouldn't we have heard something by now? It's been like 2 years since this was announced, which leads me to believe that something's amiss.

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    1. Agreed on the script issue. I heard a few blurbs about the script being challenging for Michael Cunningham. He began at the latest in mid 2013. One possibility is that if he felt he needed more time and Ricki and Florence both came up as options, it was maybe the reason they needed to postpone filming. I continue to go back to the articles in Dec 2014 which stated that the film would begin shooting in 2016 since it was funded due to the joint partnership of FilmNation and Roadshow. The other two films they mentioned have indeed started filming. But yeah, no news on it is not good. Still interested to know your thoughts on the book though! Feel free to chime in even if you aren't finished yet...even if you just get a first sense of the character.

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  3. Hi, so glad I found this blog, it makes for excellent reading!
    A fairly subjective question regarding Meryl's incredible career: Although she quickly became known as one of the greatest actresses of her generation at what point did the title -one of the greatest actors of all time- come about? Was there a particular film that cemented her status or were people throwing the title around hyperbolically (as excitable critics often do) and then people realised "oh no, that's not an exaggeration that's actually pretty accurate". Wow, did not ask that as succinctly as I hoped but think you'll get it, thanks anyway!

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    1. Welcome to the blog! To answer your question, I don't think there is any ONE performance that cementer her as being considered one of the greatest of all time. I think a reasonable time would've been after the 1980's when she had arguably the most acclaimed decade of performances ever. She had eight Academy Award nominations before she was 40. The consideration of her place among all-time greats got further cemented as she continued to get recognized into the late 90's. What possibly CEMENTED it was the resurgence she had in the early 2000s with Adaptation/The Hours/Angels in America. She shortly after became a big box office draw as well.

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    2. I'm not sure if there was one film but I did read that after Sophie's choice people (critics/filmmakers) generally agreed she was an outstanding talent who could take most any role. I guess the reputation grew more solid with each new film of the 80s where she constantly transformed into another person.

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