“Streep has an uncanny ability for morphing accents of every type imaginable (check her out in her early films playing a Pole, a South African, etc)”
Accents are overrated. Like physical deformities, mental retardation, and general insanity, they’re showy shortcuts to praise. That is, for people (like me) who can’t tell the difference between average and exceptional immitations. Passable and awful ones, yes, the difference is glaring. But it’s not worth praise to be passable.
When a foreigner hits a spot-on impression of my native accent, that’s notable. I’m thinking now of Hugh Laurie as tv’s House, whom I would never have taken as British had I not been so informed. Since I’m not Polish or South African, I can’t say how well Streep did, except to say it was believable. Leave it to Poles and South Africans to sing her praises. From my perspective, it’s merely something I have to get past so as to appreciate the truly important aspects of performance. That’s why I call it “showy.”
I’m thinking now of Hugh Laurie as tv’s House, whom I would never have taken as British had I not been so informed.