5 Meryl Streep Performances to Watch Instead of “The Iron Lady”

Two days ago, Meryl Streep won her third Academy Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

When this happened, I was attending an Oscar party that had almost twenty guests, and all but one person loudly groaned when Streep’s name was announced.

Was this party attended by a bunch  of Streep haters? No. In fact, most of us love Meryl Streep. We were just annoyed on behalf of Viola Davis, who gave a lovely, subtle, moving performance in The Help. We were rolling our eyes at Meryl Streep doing her very best Taylor Swift impersonation during the acceptance speech when she acted as though she had no idea she would win, even though she wore a gold dress to the ceremony. (Girlfriend, you dressed as an Oscar. Clearly, you thought you had a chance.)

Most of all, we were annoyed that Meryl Streep, celebrated and brilliant actor, won her third Academy Award for a ham and cheese sandwich of a performance.

Then I was struck with a horrible thought: the idea that people who didn’t know any better would subject themselves to The Iron Lady, thinking that it must be a great performance if it finally won Meryl Streep her third Oscar.

People. No. Don’t put yourselves through that. It’s not worth it. Trust me. Unless you want to spend your time sitting through a bazillion speeches about How Hard It Is To Be A Woman In Politics, poorly edited hallucination scenes about a woman imagining the spirit of her dead husband, and some of the most manipulative garbage recently put onto film, avoid The Iron Lady at all costs.

Instead, I will offer you an alternate list of 5 different Meryl Streep movies you can watch instead of The Iron Lady.

1. Kramer vs. Kramer
This was Streep’s first Oscar-winning performance and it’s easy to see why. She plays Joanna Kramer, a woman who feels trapped in her marriage and leaves her husband and child. She plays Joanna as being uncomfortable in her own skin; she can barely look her ex-husband Ted (Dustin Hoffman) in the eye even after she’s spent some time finding herself. It’s a very good movie in general – Hoffman’s performance is also great, and the custody fight as depicted in the courtroom is a fascinating look at the different gender stereotypes that both mothers and fathers have to face. (Joanna’s sexual life is called into question, and Ted’s ability to be a financial breadwinner is a comment on his manhood.) Really well-done.

2. Silkwood
One of the better entries in the “Meryl Streep plays a real person” subgenre, Silkwood is like Norma Rae with a sad ending. Karen Silkwood is a worker at a nuclear plant who is exposed to radiation, and she’s the whistleblower that tries to expose the plant’s corruption. It’s a performance – and a movie – that avoids sentimentality and a “rah rah you go girl” message. Some of the scenes where Karen is scrubbed down are a little hard to watch, though – just giving you all a fair warning.

3. A Cry in the Dark
This is a movie about a couple whose child dies and they are suspected in their murder. It would be easy – so easy – for an actress to give a completely weepy performance in this movie. Not only has her child died, but she’s suspected of the murder. But Streep gives Lindy Chamberlain a brittle hardness, creating a real human being out of what could be a Lifetime performance. I had a serious case of ugly crying when watching some of her scenes with Sam Neill. This is also worth watching for the origin of “A dingo ate my baby!”

4. Death Becomes Her
This is not a good movie. It’s a very silly comedy about bitchy women who are too obsessed with their looks. Still, Streep obviously has a hell of a time playing the vain actress Madeline, and I get vicarious joy out of watching her and Goldie Hawn tear it up. Seeing Bruce Willis play completely against type is also a treat.

5. The River Wild
Meryl Streep in an ACTION MOVIE! Kind of. A family goes on a whitewater rafting trip and encounters two criminals. It’s an average thriller, neither good nor bad, but entertaining enough, especially with a cast that includes Streep, David Strathairn, Kevin Bacon, and John C. Reilly. The child actor is also non-annoying. Streep elevates a film that’s decent, but not great, to another level.

Of these five movies, Streep won for Kramer vs. Kramer and was nominated for Silkwood and A Cry in the Dark. If you feel the urge to see The Iron Lady, do yourself a favor. Watch one of the other movies on this list and pretend she won an Oscar for any of those performances.