It's a been a great year to be a Meryl fan! Big Little Lies recently finished, and we have both The Laundromat and Little Women coming out in just a few months (the trailer for Little Women happens to come out tomorrow by the way). And then Meryl will begin filming The Prom around December. She's looking to be in the conversation for awards attention for both The Laundromat and Big Little Lies. It'll be a fun winter!
Thanks again, everyone!
Thanks Jeff, for this place to stop and check in on one of my heroines of art and entertainment! I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteI've been an awestruck admirer of Meryl since 1978. Your encyclopedic knowledge and intense fan worship may even exceed mine (though I'm not sure it does). I'm 54, so I've got a few years on you and I've had the luxury of following her career in real time, but I absolutely love comparing notes with someone who has discovered Meryl mid-career.
Sure, I wasn't able to experience her New York career birth, and I didn't see her TV debut in the "Deadliest Season." Who did? Is it accessible? As a Meryl completist, I'd love to see it. But I was given permission to stay awake as a 6th grader to watch "Holocaust" on Network TV over several school nights. I didn't know her name at the time, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She won the Emmy that year, I noted her name, and was annoyed that I couldn't see her in "The Deer Hunter" (rated R) or in "Kramer vs. Kramer" the next year because of the nudity. But I caught it the next year when it aired (sans nudity) on TV. Home video soon arrived and gave me "Linda" in the "Deer Hunter." When I had just turned 18, my sister came home for winter break while in college, and we went to see her in "Sophie's Choice." My God!. Film acting would never be the same. But I turned out to be wrong, because she followed this with Karen Silkwood. Blue Collar. Shag Mullet. Okie accent and heartbreakingly real. Since then, I sometimes see Meryl instead of the character, but only because I feel I've come to know her, but never for the duration of the film. She still finds a way to lose herself in character.
Franseca Johnson? A sublime return to form after her brief retreat to wilderness in the early '90s. But even that criticism isn't fair because she did that effortless turn as Suzanne Vale in Postcards from the Edge during that wilderness period. And "Defending Your Life" was a delightful throwaway in 1991 and she had a mainstream hit with "Death Becomes Her" the following year.
AFTER FRANCESCA? One True Thing? Sadly Forgotten and underrated. Simply stunning and one of her best roles. Since then, 2002! She reclaimed cinema that year. Then an unprecedented and uninterrupted streak of diverse visibility and commercial bankability. Just when I think she can't surprise me, she goes totally subtle and suburban in Big Little Lies. Her best moment? When Laura Dern leaves the coffee shop before they both return to court and Mary Louise nonchalantly says that she'll bring the forgotten latte to Renata because they are "both going to the same place." She delivers this line so casually and hilariously. She isn't even caught on camera for the line delivery, and it's partially lost in background noise. But the delivery is pure Meryl, and I caught myself rewinding to hear it again.
Thanks, Jeff. I love your blog! It is a gift that I enjoy regularly. And I live right here in St. Paul! Perhaps you and Joe, or Scooter, (or both) would enjoy a get-together down the road for a Meryl premier with a couple of "50-ish" Meryl fans.
Hoping for at least 8 more years!
- Bart.
Thanks so much, Bart! What a great story of Meryl-fandom. Sophie's Choice is what did it for me, and I agree, if one has the opportunity to see Silkwood right after, the contrast in character while maintaining such a high level of performance is almost more astonishing than the performances themselves.
DeleteThe "wilderness years" of the early 90s continue to fascinate me, but it's been fun reimagining it. Not sure if you'd read my reimagined history section at the top, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on others, having been a Streeper since the beginning.
Thrilled to have a regular reader for MN!
All the best,
Jeff
We thank you......♡♡♡
ReplyDeleteThank you Jeff for your work and devotion which inspire us all and walks us trough the great achievements of our beloved Meryl. Congrats for your amazing work.
ReplyDeleteHugo
Portugal
By the way, the trailer of "Little Women" is already out. quite interesting!
Thank you Jeff, after all these years this is still my number one site for all things Meryl!
ReplyDeleteYou do a terrific job and it's great to have this site to come to, get news, chat and appreciate Meryl! Here's to many more..