Meryl Streep is generally cited as one of the greatest actors of our time. She’s got 21 Oscar nominations and three wins; the actors tied for second place—Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson—only have a measly 12 nominations apiece. She’s a master at accents, from Polish (Sophie’s Choice) to Australian (A Cry In The Dark), and her range is wide, allowing her to credibly embody everyone from a woman living on the streets in the Depression era (Ironweed) to a fashion icon (The Devil Wears Prada). She’s also believably embodied a number of real people, figures as varied as Margaret Thatcher, Kay Graham, and Julia Child.
You’re likely familiar with Streep’s many award-winning roles, and you may be one of the many viewers delighted with her rare foray into television on this season of Big Little Lies, where she plays quietly menacing mother-in-law Mary Louise. If this most recent turn has reignited your Streep admiration, but you’ve already seen Out Of Africa and The Bridges Of Madison County too many times to count, never fear: We’ve singled out five films from her long résumé that are a little off the beaten path but still well worth the watch; they offer the opportunity to see this great actor stretch herself further—literally, in the case of one head-twisting highlight below.
Heartburn (1986)
Silkwood (1983), which earned Meryl Streep one of her many Oscar nominations, was Nora Ephron’s first screenplay. A few years later, Streep basically played Ephron herself in Heartburn, directed by Mike Nichols. Based on Ephron’s novel of the same name, the movie is a lightly fictionalized account of her marriage to the adulterous Carl Bernstein, here renamed Mark Forman and played by Jack Nicholson. As food writer Rachel, Streep conveys the devastation of love gone wrong, as someone who was reluctant to get married, then falls in love with the blissful domestic life that follows, until everything falls apart. Thanks to Ephron’s wit and Streep’s sympathetic delivery, the movie manages to be quite funny—a perfect summation of marriage: “What are you shouting at me for?” “Because you’re the only one who’s here!”—and Carly Simon’s effervescent soundtrack suggests hope in the midst of heartbreak.
Availability: Hulu with Starz add-on and the major digital services
Defending Your Life (1991)
Good news: You’ve finally found the love of your life. Bad news: You’re both in a way station on the way to your next lives, and probably won’t be going to the same place. Writer-director Albert Brooks tackles the huge afterlife question in Defending Your Life, casting himself as Daniel, a man who let his fears rule his existence while on Earth. The Gallant to his Goofus is Julia, played by Streep, so brave that she was Prince Valiant in another life. Brooks’ mundane, Earth-like vision of purgatory, dubbed Judgment City, is fascinating. But the unlikely love story is the heart of the film. Perfect Julia could be super annoying played by anyone but Streep, effortlessly warm and wonderful here. (She’s the type of person who strolls back into a burning home to save the family cat.) Rachel’s also intrigued by the lesser Daniel, primarily because of how much he makes her laugh, leading to Daniel finally finding his true courage at last.
Availability: Hulu with Cinemax add-on and the major digital services
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Robert Zemeckis’ effects-laden comedy (it won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but Streep disliked the experience so much she said she’d never work with a green screen again) is actually a sharp statement on the futile fixation with youth and beauty. Streep and Goldie Hawn play longtime frenemies Madeline and Helen (or Mad and Hel) who both discover the secret to eternal life. Bruce Willis is Ernest, the hapless doctor caught between them. Once Mad drinks the longevity potion, she discovers she can’t be killed, even as her body is flailed into all sorts of impossible positions. As always, Streep gamely jumps into the role, whether she’s performing a flop number from an ill-advised musical adaptation of Sweet Bird Of Youth or delivering an entire scene with her head spun around backwards. Ultimately, though, Ernest is the one who finds the secret to true longevity, while the women remain obsessed with maintaining a fading facade that no longer matters.
Availability: Hulu with Starz add-on and the major digital services
The River Wild (1994)
Meryl Streep, action hero? Curtin Hanson’s engaging thriller makes the case. Streep plays Gail, a history teacher and Boston mom who grew up as a river guide in the wilds of Montana. Her own family’s river vacation soon gets capsized by two criminals, played by Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly, who want her to lead them down a dangerous part of the rapids called The Gauntlet so that they can make their escape. If you’ve ever doubted that Meryl Streep can do anything, The River Wild is the one to see—not only does she ably lead the giant raft down treacherous waters (the outdoor action sequences will have you wondering how in the world they safely filmed them), she gloriously one-ups almost every man in the movie. Much is made of the fact that Gail is the alpha in her own home: The dog (and kids) primarily listen to her, not her buttoned-down architect husband (David Strathairn). So even Bacon’s treacherous charm is no match for Gail’s commanding competence.
Available: Netflix and the major digital services
Ricki And The Flash (2015)
Jonathan Demme’s final film didn’t seem to make much of a ripple on its release in 2015, but it’s still worth seeking out. Streep and her Sophie’s Choice co-star Kevin Kline reunite to play divorced parents of now-adult children. Streep uses a vocal register about an octave lower than her usual one to portray Ricki, a woman who appears to have given up her family to follow her dream of playing music; from her own perspective, she was pushed out by her domestic-minded husband and his new wife. Streep manages to wring sympathy even out of this potentially unsympathetic figure; now that her kids are older and her daughter’s in crisis, Ricki just wants to do the right thing, even though she’s not exactly sure what that is. Fortunately, she’s guided by her boyfriend, Greg (Rick Springfield, excellent in one of his first movie roles since 1984’s Hard To Hold) who reminds her that her job is to love her kids, and not worry so much about whether those feelings are returned. Streep learned to play guitar for Ricki—from Neil Young, no less! And while we’ve heard her sing in movies before, here she covers everyone from Tom Petty to Lady Gaga, backed by Springfield and the rest of the Flash. The movie’s high point is Ricki’s solo acoustic performance of the sentimental song “Cold One” for her ex and her struggling daughter, revealing her true feelings in a way mere words never could.
Available: Amazon Prime and the other major digital services
88 Comments
I’m disappointed by Ricki and The Flash because it should’ve been The Flash movie that DC was supposed to make. Same with that Kristen Stewart film that I hate because it’s not Marvel’s The Runaways.If Annette Benning can rock it as Mar-Vell, then yeah Meryl Streep would make an excellent Flash in The Justice League. Meryl Streep as Jesse Chambers/Wells. Do it, Warner Bros. Hell, have Meryl play Jesse Wells from the future in Legends of Tomorrow.
NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE ABOUT GODDAMN SUPER HEROES.
YOU CAN’T FORCE ME TO BED! I’M SUPERMAN, DADDY!
Says “Phartus”, a supervillain name if I ever heard one…
“Can Ricki and the Flash outrun the Flash?“Eh, sure kid…”
It does if it annoys you!
*recoiling in disgust*
Albert Brooks tackles the huge afterlife question in Defending Your Life, casting himself as Daniel, a man who let his fears rule his existence while on Earth
“Who are you?”“I’m Prince Valiant! Who are you?”“Dinner.”
“you remind me of my little poodle!”
I’m not sure if the creators have said so, but from watching both, it’s pretty clear that The Good Place was inspired by Defending Your Life. The similarities — such as heaven being represented as a modern upscale urban environment — are just too close.
As someone who counts Defending Your Life as his favorite movie and The Good Place as one of his favorite shows, I think about the comparison a ton. I’d be shocked if Schur and company weren’t fans of the film.
Death Becomes Her? Lesser known? Really?
I feel the same about Defending Your Life and The River Wild, too. Especially the later, as it was promoted heavily and opened at #1.
I think that and She-Devil tend to get pushed aside when talking about Streep. That said, I think She-Devil is even lesser known nowadays than Death Becomes Her.
Yes, but she devil is bad. And it’s one of the few Meryl performances that doesn’t work.
Not gonna contradict you – I couldn’t finish watching it the one time I tried.
Yes, unfortunately.
I originally watched Heartburn in the theaters as a teenager and enjoyed it. I have seen it since then, but not in a while, so a recent rewatch from the perspective of a married person was interesting. It holds up, and Meryl & Jack were excellent as usual.I think Ricki & the Flash suffered from a bad title.
Gwen, there’s a disappointing lack of A Cry in the Dark here. I mean, a dingo took her baby for Christ’s sake! (available to rent from all of the usual places)
I wouldn’t say its a ‘lesser known’ Meryl film, as she was nominated for it. Its also mentioned in the opening paragraph.
Sonofabitch… I even scrolled back up to see if I missed it.
When Michael Chamberlain died the New York Times mentioned Meryl Streep in the first sentence of his obituary, and devoted a paragraph to how Americans turned the movie’s dingo line into a punchline: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/world/australia/michael-chamberlain-dingo-baby.htmlSo it’s safe to say the movie’s not lesser-known, even if it’s know partially for the wrong reasons. It’s a very good movie but also horrendously sad.
What is exactly the reason it became a joke here do you think? Is it like how we mocked OJ’s claim to be looking for the “real killers” and we doubt the innocence of the Chamberlains? Or is it just that we find the idea of an animal dragging away a small child amusing?
I think the first issue is probably that the vast majority of Americans who heard the line in the film’s advertising, or heard it repeated, didn’t know (or didn’t clock in) that it was depicting a real-life event (unlike in Australia and I think New Zealand, where the case was major news for years). By the time it was being joked about on Seinfeld and the Simpsons it had been a joke in regular conversation for years.
Because somebody had to:
It’s mentioned in the third sentence, as a non-lesser-known Meryl Streep film.
I didn’t like how they were trying to capitalize on Sophie’s Choice mania and had the dingo force Streep to choose which of her babies it was going to eat.
Sophie was Polish, not German. The Germans forced the titular choice on her. And it’s not like a Polish accent sounds similar to a German one.
Thanks- changed above.
I was just thinking of The River Wild yesterday. I enjoyed it in the theater when I was in high school, and I was wondering if it holds up. I definitely don’t remember John C Reilly in it!I think my favorite Streep performance is in Adaptation. She nails so many aspects of the character. Somehow, her silent exasperation and disappointment at seeing a ghost orchid after wandering through the swamp for hours is one of that movie’s most memorable moments.
Availability: Hulu with Starz add-on
I’m so glad we live in the age if the streaming.“Subscribe to this service with that add on to get a movie” is so much more convenient than “Rent the DVD”.
Funny how you left off “…and the major digital services” considering you can digitally rent a movie like Heartburn for $3-5 from a dozen places.
Glad to see Defending Your Life given its due.. one of those movies that perfectly accomplishes what it set out to do, along with say, Groundhog Day…
Defending your life is legit one of my favorite movies. Honestly, they could afford to have a full on Albert Brooks appreciation on here, maybe bring back the old Primer articles that they used to do back when they cared about that sort of thing .
My mother loved this movie. Loved the idea of an afterlife where you can eat as much as you want.
I had a hard time getting past the fact that Streep’s character would have gone on to the Next at the end of all of her previous lives. There’s no reason why she kept getting kicked back.
Well said about those two flicks. It’s often been a head-scratcher for me, it’s like a flip of the coin thing where one movie goes on to live large with t-shirts, mugs, and being so quotable, while the other one goes on to be this juicy bit of trivia or something someone desperately recommends you watch :/- Howmanydaysyoulookingat?…oooh!- You look like you like pie. I’m going to get you some pie :D- What were you in your past life?Dinner.
probably my favorite is “did you have a dog?” “you already asked me that” “oh! and what did you say?” “I said yes.” “ and what did I say?” “you said its wonderful!””….well it is”
OH MY GOD NINE DAYS
It’s a great film.
Defending Your Life is lesser-known?? i feel like that was on cable every hour on the hour when i was a kid.Also, if you haven’t seen it, see Adaptation. It’s phenomenal. More of a Nicolas Cage movie than a Meryl Streep movie, but she plays a huge role.
Meryl is really great in Defending Your Life. It’s a soft, lovely performance that doesn’t hit any of the cliches that many seem to associate her with.There are some Meryl movies which I rarely hear about today – House of the Spirits, Perfect (with Tracy Ullman as her best friend), Falling in Love.
House of the Spirits is a great book, but certainly hasn’t aged well as a movie.
In Ricki and the Flash, Streep’s daughter is played by Streep’s daughter
Her daughter is also played by her daughter in Heartburn
For anyone who played Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon back in the day, The River Wild was scarcely lesser-known—it was, and is, one of the biggest connection cynosures ever!
I enjoyed Still of the Night with Streep and Roy Scheider. The plot isn’t great now since it has been done so many times. I enjoyed seeing both actors in the same movie, I guess.
I saw that one in the theatre when it came out, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Might be time for a rewatch to see if it stands up.
If you want to see young Meryl at her best you should hunt down her New York Shakespeare production of the musical ‘Alice at the Palace’ from 1982 along with pre-’Perfect Strangers’ Mark Linn-Baker. The best part was her doing her Joan Baez impression while using a flamingo as a guitar. Oh! I located it.
Death Becomes her is a classic of delectable dark comedy. Pay no attention to its negative critics at the time: the picture is more entertaining and better than a lot of Zemeckis’ films, including Forrest Gump.
It’s half a great movie. Once the special effects take over it becomes less enjoyable.
She-Devil.
This is the wrong video!Here is the correct one…
Id actually vouch for Postcards from the Edge. You see it from time to time but I wouldn’t consider it one of her most famous works. And it had Mary Wickes and Mr. Drummond as her grandparents.
I came here to suggest that one! It’s a solid pick, I think.
Maybe it doesn’t count as “lesser known” but Postcards from the Edge is so good. Hilarious script – by Carrie Fisher of course, and I just love Meryl in comedies. Her timing is impeccable in this one – plus you have Shirley MacLaine… and I just love Meryl’s little song at the end,.I don’t know if it’s streaming anywhere but it’s worth looking for in any format.
Wait wait wait… Death Becomes Her is on this list as one of the lesser known Meryl films? I call BS, it’s one of her most perfect roles and a great movie, I thought everybody knew!
Seriously! What nincumpoops is Gwen hanging out with?
Good call on “Defending Your Life.” She really makes that movie. In a lesser actress, that role would have come off as a Mary Sue, and the audience would think Albert Brooks is crazy to fall for her. But, she just nails it.
“It’s aliiiiiiiiive!”Death Becomes Her is a real bundle of laughs, well worth seeing it. Hawn is as good as Streep, too.Plus, a very scantily clad Isabella Rossellini. What’s not to like?
Isabella Rossellini’s ass is played by a pre-JAG Catherine Bell (seriously).
I did NOT know that.More power to both! 🙂
Oh that Meryl Streep, she’s such a phony baloney.
I’d go so far as to call Defending Your Life a forgotten masterpiece
I’d go so far as to agree with you.
Sweet!
Just wanted to throw this one out there-my gay brother and I use the phrase “Silkwood Shower” a lot to describe cleansing yourself of an unpleasant experience: apparently its well known but we invented it
Yes! A Silkwood scrub is a phrase that’s used a lot.
This list is nothing without. A Prairie Home Companion. 🙂
Streep is one of those great actors that can disappear in the role they play right before your eyes. I would rate her as a national treasure.
Defending Your Life is my favorite romantic comedy of all time.
Alternate opinion: these movies are lesser known because they aren’t that good. And too often they star Meryl Streep playing Meryl Streep.
I used to think that Streep was wasted in Defending Your Life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my all-time favorite movies, but it seemed like all she had to do was smile and laugh at everything Albert Brooks said. However, the article summed it up perfectly by pointing out how difficult the role really was, ensuring that the Julia character was utterly sincere and humble about her near-perfection.
Maybe I should try Heartburn again. I read the book about 12 times and could never get through the movie.
No mention of Plenty, a 1985 British movie about the decline of the British Empire, with Streep brilliant as a former spy from World War Two, trying to adjust to the dreariness of post-war life? A great performance from Streep as someone who’s tough, self-destructive, and English, but ultimately sympathetic.
Postcards from the Edge is one of my favorite Streep performances. I don’t think that’s as popular as Death Becomes Her.
Ironweed. ya drangus
The thing I remember most about Ricki and the Flash is that the only two dinner choices at the wedding were “vegan” and “gluten-free vegan”.
Defending Your Life is one of my favorite movies ever made, and I have no shame in telling people it literally changed my approach to life. I saw it as a college kid, and the message to not live in fear made a huge impression on me. I definitely knew my then-boyfriend wasn’t for me when he fell asleep during my whole emotional revelation.
It’s also hilarious and stars two brilliant actors so there’s that too.
Curtis Hanson not Curtin Hanson
The River Wild is the only movie I ever walked out of in theaters. It is terrible, and you should be ashamed of yourself for recommending it.
Recommends5 To Watch“(Scrolls down.)
“ (1992)“
Death Becomes Her is not “off the beaten path” if you’re gay. It’s Meryl cannon, and oft-quoted and referenced. “A Praire Home Companion” should definitley be on this list. She proves that she can be effortlessly give a towering performance, while also blending into the ensemble and working well with her scene partners (as always). It’s also the last film directed by a true American legend, and features Lily Tomlin at her best to boot!
Calling Death Becomes Her “lesser known” is some heterosexual nonsense
No adaptation love!?