Frida Cinema founder Logan Crow wasn’t quite sure how to react when Donald Trump called the widely respected actress Meryl Streep “overrated” on Twitter. His comments were in response to the speech she gave while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes.
Without mentioning his name, Streep criticized Trump, who at the time was president-elect, for his rhetoric while she also advocated for freedom of the press.
While many celebrated her comments, and others disagreed with her use of the awards show as a platform to express her political views, Crow wasn’t quite sure how anyone could question Streep’s acting chops.
After all, the actress, who is nominated for her 20th Academy Award for her role as an untalented opera singer in “Florence Foster Jenkins,” has won more than 100 international awards, including three Oscars, and is widely regarded as one of the all-time great talents in Hollywood.
So, with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek spirit, Crow decided to let Streep’s art do the talking at his theater with “Overrated!”
The weeklong event, according to the theater’s Facebook page, will “showcase her apparently overrated talent for perfectly capturing a wealth of foreign accents, fully embodying some of cinema’s most complex and heartbreaking characters, and even dancing and singing a song or two.”
“When Meryl Streep was referred to as overrated, it was laughable within the theater community. It’s the equivalent of calling Michael Jordan an overrated athlete,” Crow said. “So, we like to have a little fun with honoring filmmakers and performers. The idea of this festival is: What if Meryl Streep has been overrated all along?”
He then noted that it’s quite clear that she’s not.
Running today through Feb. 9, the film and art showcase will inundate the Santa Ana art house cinema with all things Streep. It will include screenings of about a dozen of her films starting with “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Death Becomes Her,” which open the weeklong tribute tonight on Feb. 3.
Other films on the roster include “Mamma Mia!,” “Sophie’s Choice” and “The Bridges of Madison County.”
And on Saturday, the Cinema will open an art show that includes about two dozen paintings by artists throughout the nation who were inspired by Streep’s many movie roles. The artwork will be on display throughout the month.
“They captured these moments and performances that for whatever reasons moved them,” Crow said of the artwork submitted for the show, adding that while they captured some of her best theatrical moments, the work is not of an overtly political nature.
That’s fine with Chicago-based artist Justin Castaneda, who will be displaying two mixed-media illustrations inspired by Streep. He also doesn’t see this as a political show but more like a tribute to art.
“It’s more about celebrating someone who is passionate about their craft,” he said.
Castaneda’s mixed-media illustrations in the show include a fox in a dress that represents Streep’s character, Mrs. Fox, in the animated film “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The other is a witch who represent Streep’s character from “Into the Woods.”
Another piece that will be on display is a colorful mixed-media painting depicting Streep in her role as the icy and tough Miranda Priestly in the film “The Devil Wears Prada.” It was created by Long Beach-based artist Dianne Garcia.
“I love how Meryl Streep’s character could have been super-stereotypical, but she gave that character more depth than I think any other actress could have,” she said.
Garcia, who laughed out loud after learning that Trump called the actress overrated, said she thought the idea of an art and film event to satirically examine whether Streep was, indeed, overrated was “hilarious.”
“I think this is a great tribute to her,” she added. “I don’t want to make it about Donald Trump at all. This is about her and women who are trying to stand up for their rights.”
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
