tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post2819339179270886245..comments2023-12-20T11:32:15.997-05:00Comments on Billevesées: Streep’s ‘The Iron Lady’William V. Madisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18120331095634473021noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-65095655162283132622012-04-16T15:45:20.951-04:002012-04-16T15:45:20.951-04:00Well, it's not quite the same as Cam dressing ...Well, it's not quite the same as Cam dressing up as Thatcher on <i>Modern Family</i>, but we note that <i>Glee</i>'s Kurt Hummel (played by Chris Colfer) now boasts a Margaret Thatcher dog, a stuffed toy used to cheer up Blaine Anderson (played by Darren Criss).William V. Madisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18120331095634473021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-67723407393818827602012-02-05T00:36:08.898-05:002012-02-05T00:36:08.898-05:00Glad I read this before going to see the movie so...Glad I read this before going to see the movie so I'd know it was about Meryl Streep. That was a good enough reason to go, despite the unsatisying mishmash of themes. SKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-67040574473545166482012-01-18T17:31:46.918-05:002012-01-18T17:31:46.918-05:00Yes, Mike, the Queen detested Thatcher though of c...Yes, Mike, the Queen detested Thatcher though of course never said so. And Thatcher was livid (under the pancake) when there were victory celebrations and the Queen showed up, looking dowdy and grim, and simply stole the show, including top billing. <br /><br />Mussolini reacted the same way, when he came to Termini Station to welcome Hitler (head of state of Germany) only to have the tiny, disregarded Victor Emmanuel III appear (legal head of state of Italy) to stand in front of Il Duce on this formal occasion. <br /><br />Monarchy does have its elegant little part to play, even today.John Yohalemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-52660740990617938592012-01-18T09:03:32.779-05:002012-01-18T09:03:32.779-05:00I love the idea of dressing Lily as Streep as That...I love the idea of dressing Lily as Streep as Thatcher! Clutching a Ken-doll Oscar!William V. Madisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18120331095634473021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-3193874793818460702012-01-18T08:56:17.604-05:002012-01-18T08:56:17.604-05:00Very true, Bill! I didn't remember that line,...Very true, Bill! I didn't remember that line, but i also tried to forget the movie as fast as I could... LOL<br /><br />And if we're not careful, Cam may dress Lily as Maggie Thatcher for next year's Halloween episode!!!!Mikebenchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383824651835385386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-11682722493734411792012-01-18T01:47:07.087-05:002012-01-18T01:47:07.087-05:00Mikebench, a thought occurred to me this afternoon...Mikebench, a thought occurred to me this afternoon, long after I'd posted this essay. In the film, Thatcher tells a political opponent that he'd do well to pay more attention to <i>what</i> she says than to <i>how</i> she says it. <br /><br />Whereas of course the film demands just the opposite of the audience: we are all supposed to pay attention to <i>how</i> Dame Meryl speaks, without thinking twice about <i>what</i> she's actually saying.<br /><br />John, the "Batman" line is actually an allusion to the character Cameron on the TV show <i>Modern Family</i>, who's a Streep fanatic and once opined that she'd be brilliant even if she played the Caped Crusader.William V. Madisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18120331095634473021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-53912040391409498272012-01-17T21:55:54.886-05:002012-01-17T21:55:54.886-05:00I enjoyed your review very much, Bill, and it has ...I enjoyed your review very much, Bill, and it has saved me $13 I will probably waste seeing some Bresson at Film Forum. (or The Artist. I still haven't seen that). <br /><br />But I don't understand how you can say Meryl (that cute girl I fell in love with when she played Dunyasha in Cherry Orchard as if she lived in some universe on which none of the other characters intruded, just her own la-di-dah dreamtime, which was so wrong and so RIGHT and so Chekhov) is the only actress with the authority to play Lady T, as Yelena Vasilievna (or Dame Helen as she is sometimes known) has already played the Queen. In fact, I would back her to do a Bette Davis turn as both the Queen and Mad Margaret in the same vehicle someday, though with a different director. What's Charles Ludlam up to? Oh. Never mind. <br /><br />Streep as Batman? Well ... Spiderman perhaps.John Yohalemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-24429124676726170572012-01-17T14:29:54.480-05:002012-01-17T14:29:54.480-05:00It is indeed a great performance by Meryl Streep (...It is indeed a great performance by Meryl Streep (how could it not be?), but my main beef is with the director (and the writer); when you refuse to have a point of view on someone as polarizing as Margaret Thatcher - someone who was seen as evil incarnate by a whole segment of the British population (and by us Froggies, but that's understandable...), I think you end up giving a positive image of that person. Every one of her "bons mots" are great acting moments, but the uninformed/unsuspecting viewers are never really given the true context of said tirades, and so they can never judge whether M. Thatcher is being incredibly clever or simply monstrous... As we say in French, "Qui ne dit mot, consent"; "He who remains silent, agrees"...<br /><br />Also, I have often asked myself what Queen Elizabeth II thought of her, and I recently read that she did not like her. I can see why; whatever one thinks of British monarchy, I do feel that the Queen deeply cares for her people (even from a distance...); she must have seen just how much Maggie Thatcher truly despised most of those people...Mikebenchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11383824651835385386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455126179375366490.post-39114579445230949162012-01-17T12:21:46.866-05:002012-01-17T12:21:46.866-05:00According to Wikipedia, where everything is true, ...According to Wikipedia, where everything is true, Harry Lloyd is not in fact related to Phyllida Lloyd. He is, however, directly descended from Charles Dickens.William V. Madisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18120331095634473021noreply@blogger.com