The Week of Streep (p.3)

The 80s held many good times for the discerning Streep fan. While everyone was enjoying classics like A Cry in the Dark and Out of Africa during their theatrical runs, I was a little busy you know, being born.

Oh to have seen Out of Africa on the big screen, a girl can dream.

1984: Falling in Love

Falling in Love is not a great movie, despite the power-coupling (first seen on-screen together in The Deer Hunter) of Streep and DeNiro. It is, however, a good movie about two commuters who meet on a train and, of course, fall in love. The movie feels very dated, from the synth-heavy soundtrack to Streep's hair and over-sized outfits, but definite bonus points are awarded for scenes in the gorgeous Rizzoli Bookstore and for being a film about New York that was actually shot in New York.

1985: Out of Africa

One of Streep's greatest films, and certainly the most epic, Out of Africa is based on the wonderful memoirs of Isak Dinesen detailing her time spent on a coffee farm in the African highlands. I have to stop myself from impulsively booking a safari trip every time I finish watching this movie.

Everything about Out of Africa is epic, from the soundtrack, to the views of the African plains, and what Robert Redford lacks in technical skill (he's an Englishman that sounds an awful lot like... well, Robert Redford) he certainly makes up for in charm. Who wouldn't join a line a mile long to get their hair washed by that super sexy, suave man-creature?

1985: Plenty

Plenty is one of Streep's lesser known films, which in my opinion is a shame. Streep is fiercely sexy and intense as Susan Traherne, a woman who desperately seeks fulfillment and excitement in post-war Europe. Aside from being ridiculously gorgeous in every scene, Streep embodies Susan's restlessness and disappointment so perfectly that I actually ache along with her. She has plenty, but always wants for — and really needs — more (who hasn't felt this way?).

Plenty also includes what is perhaps my most favorite line ever uttered by Streep: "I would stop, I would stop, I would stop fucking talking if I ever heard anybody else say anything worth fucking stopping talking for!"

1986: Heartburn

Heartburn marks the first pairing of Streep and Jack Nicholson, and was based on a Nora Ephron 'novel' of the same name (I lost the copy I rented from the library before I ever got to read it so, I'm sure its great...). Much like Falling in Love, Heartburn is not a great movie and feels rather dated. It's definitely entertaining though, and worth watching if only for Kevin Spacey's very brief appearance as a 'New York City punk' and Streep's real-life daughter Mamie's screen debut as Streep's on-screen daughter, Annie.

As a cautionary note, don't watch this — or any other Nora Ephron movie — hungry; just thinking about the scenes where Streep and Nicholson eat delicious foods in bed makes me want to hit the kitchen (and then the bedroom) immediately.

1987: Ironweed

Ironweed is the second, and much more successful, pairing of Streep and Nicholson. This is definitely not a movie to watch when you're in need of a pick-me-up, believe me. Streep plays Helen Archer, a vagrant and a drunk with lofty dreams and even lower realities. She is absolutely and completely devastating in this film, and should have received every award imaginable. Unfortunately, this movie seems to have slipped under the radar, and wasn't even available on DVD until last year.

Nicholson is always Jack Nicholson, but it works here; Tom Waits (a fellow, almost-too-convincing drunk) and Fred Gwynne (yes, that's Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne) round out a wonderfully sad and vivid film. I think my heart actually breaks each time I watch Streep take the stage to sing "He's Me Pal" — keep the tissues handy.

1988: A Cry in the Dark

Based on the real-life drama of the Chamberlains, an Australian couple who claimed that 'a dingo got their baby,' A Cry in the Dark is the second time Streep stars opposite Sam Neil (the first was in Plenty). Streep plays Lindy, an admittedly difficult woman and mother who did nothing for her public image by dying her hair black and tweezing her eyebrows into such a sinister shape. Streep somehow makes you sympathize for Lindy —not the easiest task — and I never doubted her story for a minute.

I've heard Streep confess that Australian proved to be the most difficult accent for her to master, but I think she's only being modest; anyone would find it quite difficult to distinguish her from a native.