Performer of the Week: Meryl Streep
THE PERFORMER | Meryl Streep
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THE SHOW | Only Murders in the Building
THE EPISODE | “Grab Your Hankies” (Aug. 15)
THE PERFORMANCE | There’s something to be said about an artist’s ability to escape into a role — especially when you’re someone as ubiquitous as Streep. But that’s exactly what she did as soon as Loretta dropped her purse and began her audition in last week’s premiere. She was no longer a three-time Academy Award winner. She was a struggling actress emboldened by a lifetime of rejection and channeling all her failure (and the frustrations that come with it) into a monologue that would alter the trajectory of her career.
The dramatics stopped there.
The next scene required Loretta to unleash a series of absurd accents in an attempt to find her character’s voice. In that moment, we couldn’t help but wonder if we’d just been bamboozled. Had Streep been tapped to play a terrible actress? If so, she was doing a terrific job. We still weren’t positive whether the tryout was a fluke upon her return in this week’s third episode, as she filled Oliver in on an audition for “an offshoot of an offshoot of a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff” called — wait for it — Grey’s New Orleans: Family Burn Unit.
“It’s for the mother of a dermatologist, so she has a backstory. And lines!” Loretta exclaimed without even a trace of irony.
Streep could’ve played it tongue in cheek. Instead, she fully committed to the bit, selling Loretta’s enthusiasm for the ridiculous-sounding role. Even more outrageous (and therefore brilliant) was how excited Loretta got about the prospect of her character having a handicap. “I got the part! And the limp!” she growled, shaking her fist in the air to underline Loretta’s elation. Three episodes in, and Streep already felt like a seasoned member of the Only Murders comedy troupe.
Then came her big musical number. It wasn’t until Loretta stood before the producers of Oliver’s musical and sang “Look for the Light” that we could say with confidence that her audition was no accident. She was an incredible performer being played by one of our greatest living actors, still at the top of her game.
Scroll down to see who scored Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Kristin Davis
Drunk Charlotte York is the best Charlotte York — remember her disco dancing by herself at a Staten Island dive bar? — and Kristin Davis reminded us of that unassailable fact this week on And Just Like That. Charlotte celebrated a milestone at her new art gallery job by going out for drinks with her young co-workers, and Davis was hysterical as Charlotte let loose, did shots and ignored her husband and kids for once, finding a bit of that old Sex and the City sparkle. Charlotte stumbled home all sloshed and giggly, and Davis had us giggling, too, as Charlotte crowed: “I am slaying at work!” She also rediscovered her identity, pointedly (and drunkenly) telling Harry and the kids: “I was a person before you!” It was a pleasure to see Charlotte get back in touch with herself… and to see Davis’ well-honed comedic skills get a much-deserved spotlight.
HONORABLE MENTION: Boyd Holbrook
“Wouldn’t it be somethin’ if we had ourselves a little shoot-out?”
With that not-at-all-veiled challenge, Justified: City Primeval‘s Clement Mansell set the stage for the limited series’ final two episodes, and Boyd Holbrook in turn slipped into some of his stone-coldest, scariest moments yet as Raylan’s nemesis. Having eluded the police sting in the park, Mansell got up in Raylan’s face and all but called for guns drawn at dawn. And throughout that intense exchange, Holbrook dialed down Mansell’s jokier persona to meet Timothy Olyphant steely glare for steely glare. Later, when Mansell confronted Sweety and invited his partner in crime to “kill the jukebox” and give his “Seven Nation Army” cover a listen with “those big ears,” Holbrook erased any whiff of camaraderie, sending a chill down our spine — while assuring Sweety that his fate was sealed.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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