The Best and Worst of Meryl Streep

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Mary Poppins Returns” star Meryl Streep.

Films starring Meryl Streep that I've seen:
Manhattan
Kramer vs. Kramer
Adaptation. 
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Devil Wears Prada
Doubt
The Giver
Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Performance: Doubt (2008)
While I admittedly haven't seen a ton of her work, Streep's acting has yet to really impress me to any noteworthy degree. Doubt is the notable exception. Her turn as a Catholic school principal in 1960's New York City whose faith, loyalties and professional relationships are tested after the school's minister (Phillip Seymour Hofmann) is accused of molesting a student is a quietly devastating powerhouse that helps emphatically drive home the film's primary theme of traumatic events testing an individual's belief in a higher power.

Worst Performance: Adaptation. (2002)
Chris Cooper and Streep, who share a ton of scenes, spent the duration of this wretched arthouse circle jerk masquerading as a dark comedy duking it out for the honor of being the most obnoxious character. Thanks to the final 30 minutes where she fails miserably to portray a sudden, drug-induced descent into madness, Streep ended up walking away with the title.

Best Film: Doubt (2008)
For my money, this is very high on the list of most underrated awards contenders of the 2000's so far. With its brilliant script and tremendous performances from Streep, Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis, Doubt is a gut-wrenching psychological drama that poignantly explores the disturbing ills of man and how unspeakable acts of evil can cloud your belief in an infallible higher being.    

Worst Film: Adaptation. (2002)
Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze's Adaptation. is my personal cinematic hell come to life. This absolutely insufferable satire is like listening to some pompous elitist jackass ramble on about why average people don't have the intellectual capacity to appreciate the many delicate nuances of high art for 2 hours. I can't think of another time in recent memory where I was so relieved for a movie to come to an end.


Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Holmes & Watson” star Ralph Fiennes.