Meryl Streep may be able to play anyone, but can anyone play Meryl Streep? Such is the question a new Lifetime movie about the actress’ turbulent life might raise, if such a movie were to exist, and if such a life were to be turbulent. Fortunately, Streep’s life and reputation both seem exceedingly solid, and unfortunately, this movie does not exist, but a Funny or Die parody of said hypothetical film does.
Below, you’ll see Christina Applegate playing Meryl Streep playing everyone from a conflicted nun (Doubt) to a vindictive fashionista (The Devil Wears Prada) to a particularly songful free-spirited mom whose sexual past (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård) is the stuff of dreams — or, at least, the sex dreams of middle aged Brits/Scandinavians (Mamma Mia!).
Through Christina Applegate’s portrait of herself failing to hit the right notes in her reenactments of Streep’s performances, the real-life Applegate shows — as she always does — her immense comic gift and versatility. If anything, this reel of deliberate Streep-ish fails is just another testament to how much more we should be seeing Applegate in Hollywood.
Watch the video, via Funny or Die: