The big news is that Meryl Streep has agreed to play Elvis in a new movie about the legendary Jailhouse Rock singer’s life. Actually, that’s not true. But it’s a headline that few would be surprised to read. After all, Streep can do anything. She can play hero and villain, comedy and tragedy, and every part from a male rabbi to Margaret Thatcher. She can also sing everything from ABBA to opera, and in her new film, in which she plays dreadful diva Florence Foster Jenkins, Streep pretends to sing badly so convincingly that some people at the press screening assumed that Jenkins’ real voice, heard over the end credits, was Streep’s. What makes acting “good” is very much a matter of personal preference: Katharine Hepburn thought Streep was too technical. But even if she isn’t to your taste, you’ll probably admit to her versatility. If you won’t, you’re in a minority.
DONNA IN MAMMA MIA!