Word: streep
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Over the years I have watched "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on a regular basis. Like many Americans, I have been entertained by her interviews with everyone from Michael Jordan to LeAnn Rimes to Meryl Streep. I've watched Oprah make potato salad with Patti Labelle, dance with Tina Turner and Gloria Estefan, and sing with Elton John. And I'll admit that on certain occasions--when a family is finally reunited or when a particularly homely homemaker is given the makeover of her dreams--I have been touched. Maybe even inspired...
Leave it to Meryl Streep to quash all doubts. Her latest acting showcase, One True Thing, tells such an incredibly small story that it puts all the vast, sweeping movies of recent memory to shame. No giant sinking ships, no supernatural theatrics--One True Thing proves that the power of simple things can make for transcendent and arresting filmmaking...
...then, of course, there is Meryl Streep as Ellen's mother Kate, who inhabits a world completely alien to Ellen. Kate's world revolves around the home; when she's not baking or quilting, she's joining other women in planning cheery town projects. But there's more to Kate than arts and crafts--she keeps the house running, the bills paid, and the food coming without the least bit of help from Ellen or George. And most importantly, she loves her domesticity. Kate simply lights up at the thought of keeping Ellen comfortable or working on a "mosaic table...
...True Thing wouldn't be more than a Hallmark TV movie-of-the-week if it weren't for the overwhelming performances of Zellwegger, Hurt and Streep. Proving that her star-turn in Jerry Maguire was no fluke, Zellwegger--inhabiting a character that at times seems in danger of alienating the audience with her aloof obnoxiousness--portrays Ellen with tender and subtle intricacies once her front melts away...
...hard to see why Streep wanted the role as Kate Gulden. For one thing, she gets to do another accent. (This time, it's a sweet mothery voice that seems deliberately constructed to contrast with Zellwegger's slight poutiness.) She also makes the most of juicy monologues where she not only pours out her soul, but also gives us a devastating and unglamorous portrait of a woman rendered helpless by the ravages of disease. But Streep avoids the overacting bug. She never gives us more than what Kate really is--a mother who knows nothing else but the instinct...