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I had one of those days that requires a lot of time on the couch, in the dark when you get home. Maybe you have cereal for breakfast. And perhaps you answer your spouse’s questions with single syllable grunts. Then you watch something on television that requires little thought or interaction.

So I picked The Closer – which is pretty decent for such activities.

My biggest problem with The Closer falls squarely on the shoulders of one Meryl Streep. In the ‘80s she exploded onto the scene by portraying complicated characters, usually sporting some type of exotic (or not so exotic) accent. A lot of people ignored her nuanced performance and without the aid of a complex character to portray opted to go for the accent: Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Fishstick Paltrow come to mind.

Anyway – this brings me back to Kyra Sedgwick’s performance of one Brenda Leigh. I suspect in many parts of the country, people think that Kyra’s choice in southern accent is perfectly fine. She sounds like the twangiest, nightmare version of the worst truck stop waitress I might ever encounter in the land of stereotype.

She talks too fast (compared to most southerners I know). Although, Jaime Pressley* has offered up a very quick delivery for her character Joy on My Name is Earl. And her accent is great – granted, she has the benefit of having a mellow southern accent naturally. But she has a good ear for what it should sound like for someone like Joy.

Maybe she can call up Kyra sometime and give her some pointers.

The other problem I had last night – to quote one Alan Sepinwall – someone had Kyra’s lipstick set on “clown.” It was a total disaster. When your husband notices how bad a woman’s lipstick (on television no less) looks – you know you need to blot. And then fire your make-up person.

*edited to fix typos - because I can't type at 6:30 in the morning; I threw in a couple of links too

Labels: 2006