Word: witherspoonã
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...down with her believable, bubbly blondeness and uncanny similarity to the original Elle, Reese Witherspoon. Filling those knee-high patent pink leather tie-up boots is no doubt a demanding job. Arduous fans of the 2001 film will find her very obvious efforts to replicate every last one of Witherspoon??s somewhat inimitable facial expressions (largely dependent on the famous chiseled chin and popped rosy cheeks) charming and quite startlingly successful. And while Gulsvig brings nothing new to the table physically, she sings and dances and pouts and struts and costume-changes with inhumane speed, all of which...
...Academy Award nominees in the large cast. Meryl Streep’s flat role, in particular, is utterly thankless, as nothing makes her merciless CIA executive the least bit interesting or human. The only actor to shine beyond the constraints of the tired script is Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Witherspoon??s college friend and former lover. Unlike most characters in the film, Saarsgard grapples with moral quandaries in a relatable way, and the actor distinguishes himself in what could have been little more than a supporting role...
...Miss Witherspoon?? is not one of Durang’s best plays. Its whisper-thin plot barely covers what is essentially an exposition of the playwright’s personal theology. Miss Witherspoon (Paula Plum) commits suicide, and on her way through the “bardo” (a holding room for unfulfilled spirits that contains a curious mix of Eastern, Christian, and New Age religious ideas), learns to appreciate life on earth, finally making peace with the universe...
...play continues, Witherspoon??s suicides get more and more outlandish. In her first reincarnation, a two-week-old Witherspoon gets the pet dog to do her dirty work. She makes it to 12 years old the second time, but overdoses on pills purchased from the playground drug-dealer—and so on. But every time things start to get fun, Witherspoon winds up back in the bardo where she, along with the audience, is subjected to yet another (after-) life-lesson from her painfully chipper spiritual guide, Maryamma (Mala Bhattacharya...
Most of the blame for this not-quite-good production goes to director Scott Edmiston, who directed “Miss Witherspoon?? as a light-hearted take on dark themes. Such an interpretation misses the point of the play. Durang is dark first, funny later, and Edmiston’s direction leaves the play in dramatic limbo—not quite sad, but not quite funny, either...