Chapter fifty-seven: A Three-day Weekend Crash Course

Hi everybody! Happy belated Valentine's Day. Even if you are single, like me, try and eat a lot of chocolate and put on a nice outfit. I started to write this entry yesterday and was planning to write some funny, yet devious, thing about Valentine's Day out of spite, because now it's really beginning to suck hardcore being single and seeing pictures of my friend, who's so thin, with her boyfriend of some crazy, dedicated number like three years. But then my other friend surprised me with cookies at my doorstep, and my other, other friend and I got dressed in fancy outfits for a FaceTime call, so it's all good.

This long weekend, I thought, would serve as an opportunity to write about three different movies in which Meryl makes an appearance. They're all relatively short (cameos, animation, and narration,) so I thought I could pair them into the same entry:

1. Stuck on You (2003):

This movie is about two conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor (Greg Kinner and Matt Damon.) They try to live as normally as they can while running a fast food burger joint together, but it isn't enough on a professional level to satisfy Walt, who dreams of becoming a Hollywood actor. What's ironic is that Bob has terrible stage fright, but the pair ventures to try and make the Hollywood life work. Ultimately, Walt lands himself into a contract doing a show with Cher, and they meet Meryl in a restaurant. The awkwardness of those scenes is so palpable that it's funny.

The Hollywood lifestyle, and different love relationships, create an unhealthy divide between them, so they undergo a separation surgery and move back home where Bob continues the restaurant business and Walt makes a career acting at the local theater with none other than Meryl playing his leading lady. It's, again, pretty funny, and actually relatable in terms of what it means to make it in Hollywood.

2. The Ant Bully (2006):

Now, as crazy as I sound, I do remember watching this movie when I was near seven, or some age around there, and I thought it was honestly the coolest thing ever. But, I have never could remember the title and thought that the whole thing was some fever dream until the blog led me back to it. The Ant Bully is an animated movie about a boy who takes pleasure in ruining the habits of insects. A colony of ants gets their revenge by shrinking the boy and a few of his friends down to their size. If they wish to return to their regular lives, the children must live life like an ant for a bit. Upon their return to civilization, they must provide jellybeans for the ant colony because, if you can imagine it, jellybeans are a valuable resource! I've always thought that the movie gives wonderful perspective. Meryl plays the Queen Ant, which she should.

3. We are Here (2020):

This is a half-hour animated film made for Apple TV+ that premiered last Earth Day. Meryl narrates the story of a young boy who dreams of becoming an astronaut. His family is visiting the local museum for Earth Day and taking in all of the sights around him. It's, of course, a story meant for five-year-olds, but you know I watched it the day it was released cause why not? I thought it was sweet.

If there's one thing I've learned from the theater, it's that every role, part, and aspect counts! As always, thank you for the entertainment, Meryl.