Meryl Streep is definitely better than everyone, but sometimes she also rocks in addition to her sheer superiority. Did you see People's new still of Mary Louise Streep in “Ricki and the Flash,” the new Jonathan Demme movie written by Diablo Cody? She's wielding a guitar and looking like the fiercest axwoman ever. Let's commemorate all the other times she rocked our worlds.
1. She checked out just fine in “Postcards from the Edge”
2. That time she basically announced she's sick of guys calling “The Deer Hunter” their favorite.
Meryl has openly opined about how much she likes when male fans say they enjoy her performance in, say, “The Devil Wears Prada” and not “The Deer Hunter,” the movie she's used to male fans approaching her about. Here's a comment she made about her role in the epic Michael Cimino film: “They needed a girl between the two guys, and I was it.” She added, regarding her character: “I though to myself, 'Oh, boy, how am I gonna stand up for this character?' I thought of all the girls in my high school who waited for things to happen to them. Linda waits for a man to come and take care of her. If not this man, then another man: she waits for a man to make her life happen.” You have to sympathize. Why do dudes prefer her in “The Deer Hunter” when she portrays such trailblazers in movies like “Silkwood,” “Out of Africa,” “Julie and Julia,” and “The Iron Lady”?
3. When she called out Sydney Pollack's sexism
Turns out Meryl Streep wasn't considered comely enough to play a Danish authoress from the early 20th century. Who knew? “[Director Sydney Pollack] thought I was a very good actress, but he didn't know if I was sexy enough. I hadn't known that was a very important part of Karen Blixen's life,” she once quipped. Well, what do you know? She nabbed the part and got an Oscar nomination. She arguably did a perfect job.
4. “Mamma Mia”: Meryl's ebullience is ABBA Gold
Bjorn and Agnetha are still fanning themselves.
5. That time she jammed with Bette Midler, Cher, and Olivia Newton-John and fit right in.
Watch out. Meryl contended with rock royalty in this performance of “What a Wonderful World.” Goldie's got some pipes too!
6. She broke our hearts with the touching “He's Me Pal” from “Ironweed”
A beautiful singing performance and a shocking, one-of-a-kind movie.
7. That time she kissed Mark Ruffalo on the mouth for the hell of it.
Living your dream. Right in front of you. Right on the mouth.
8. Meryl cannot even remember how many women she's kissed.
Emma Thompson, Sandra Bullock, whoever. Meryl kisses all the greats.
9. That time she outed herself as a major Beyonce fan
In my interview with Diablo Cody (the aforementioned screenwriter of Meryl's newest onscreen exploit), we discovered at the 6:00 mark that Meryl Streep is a huge Beyonce fan and knows her YouTube output well. Naturally.
10. Finally, there was that time she called Stanley Tucci “dreadful.”
Meryl's Golden Globes speech for her “Devil Wears Prada” win was priceless for a number of reasons, but she really, really killed it by announcing that costar Stanley Tucci was the worst. She can act, sing, make you laugh when you want, and rock. She's the perfect celebrity.