Words of Whysdom #5
July 21, 2008

Why Meryl Streep is a Goddess

Bonnie and I went to see “Mamma Mia” over the weekend.  There’s a long, goofy story about what it means to us, since I was supposed to take Bonnie to see the stage production in Toronto a few years ago for her birthday.  I even went so far as to get tickets for April instead of February (when Bonnie’s birthday actually is) to ensure that the weather wouldn’t keep us from traveling.  Smart of me, no?  Yeah, we had an ice storm that weekend and were stranded at home.  IN APRIL.  Ask me again why we moved to North Carolina.

Anyway, when we saw the previews for the movie, and that it starred Meryl Streep, we decided right away that we were SO THERE.  Opening weekend.  And we made it.  We were surprisingly not the youngest people in the theater (my friend Steff had us expecting we might be).  We went on a Sunday afternoon and we had a blast.  A.  Friggin’.  Blast.  What a ridiculously fun film!  I laughed my butt off a couple times.  I got misty-eyed a couple times.  And I sang along and did some chair dancing.  I thought the whole cast just looked like they were having a great time.

When it was over and the credits rolled, I leaned over to Bonnie and said, “God forbid you get hit by a bus tomorrow, I’m flying to California and I’m going to steal Meryl Streep away from her husband.  I don’t care that she’s only three years younger than my mother, the woman is damn sexy!”

What is it about Meryl that all us lesbians love so much?  She’s not conventionally pretty; she’s actually somewhat plain, really.  Think about it.  She’s very pale.  Her nose is a little pointy.  But she’s also elegant, and magnetic, and nice, and classy, and witty, and smart, and refreshingly real (Don’t believe me? Check out any interview you can find with her.  Any interview.  You’ll see.).  It’s the combination of those things that make her beautiful to me. 

How she’s managed to be such a phenomenal success and hold onto herself, I have no idea.  This country holds such a double standard for men and women in the TV and film industry.  We just watched “Vantage Point” on DVD the other day and I commented to Bonnie that no woman with a lazy eye like Forrest Whitaker’s would ever make it in Hollywood.  But on him, it’s rugged or distinguished or an endearing flaw.  Mind you, I love Mr. Whitaker and have no issues with his appearance.  But name me an Oscar-winning female with the same sort of physical quirk.  Go ahead, think about it.  I’ll wait.

*chirping crickets*

*me filing my nails*

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

In a country that screams to our teenage girls that they must be as thin as possible, as smooth as possible, that gray hair sucks, that crow’s feet are the kiss of death, Ms. Streep is a desperately needed breath of fresh air.  She’s aging and you can see it on her face.  She shows no signs of plastic surgery or Botox injections and I love her for that.  She’s got some lines around her eyes; I think they give her character.  Her jowls are sagging ever-so-slightly, and so what?  Luckily for us, Ms. Streep has somehow managed to become an exception to the rule in Hollywood.  She continues to get role after role after role, and watching her play the leading lady in a romantic comedy at fifty-nine years old was pretty damn amazing.  Unfortunately, she’s about the only one who’s earned such respect (though I might argue that Sally Field has also pulled it off).  Why doesn’t Hollywood understand and accept?  We get older.  This is what real women do, damn it!  We get older, and that’s okay.  It doesn’t make us less beautiful.  In fact, in many cases, it makes us more so.

Meryl Streep is fifty-nine years old and to me, a goddess in a business full of clones.  I find her absolutely breathtaking and downright sexy.  At the risk of sounding overtly male, I’d sleep with her in a heartbeat.  Meryl!  Call me!