Meryl Streep has spent decades being treated as untouchable in Hollywood, but the internet is suddenly asking a question many movie fans never thought they would hear: has the Oscar icon actually made that many great films in recent years?
A viral debate over Streep’s modern filmography exploded online after social media users began revisiting some of her biggest flops, divisive performances, and critically panned projects.
Even with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” dominating theaters, the actress is now facing renewed scrutiny over whether her legendary status still matches her recent work.
Meryl Streep found herself at the center of social media discourse after a viral post declared her the greatest actor of the century.
Although the list was later revealed to have been generated by AI, it still sparked intense online debate about Streep’s work over the last 25 years.
One viral X post questioned whether the actress has actually delivered many memorable films since 2000.
“I’ll give you three chances to name a good Meryl Streep movie since 2000 and I’ll be shocked if you can get to two,” one user wrote.
Political journalist David Weigel added fuel to the conversation by criticizing several of her more recent projects and even calling some of them “Streepslop.”
Critics online pointed toward films like “Lions for Lambs,” which struggled with reviewers and currently holds a low Rotten Tomatoes score.
Others revisited “The Prom,” the Ryan Murphy musical comedy that failed to recreate the success of Streep’s “Mamma Mia!” era despite featuring stars like Nicole Kidman and James Corden.
Streep’s Box Office Misses Are Being Revisited
As the online discussion intensified, several of Meryl Streep’s lesser-loved films began resurfacing across social media.
Her musical drama “Ricki and the Flash” was once again criticized for failing to leave much of a cultural impact despite pairing Streep with her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer.
The pair had also previously appeared together in 2007’s “Evening,” which received harsh reviews for what critics described as overly slow storytelling and “labored dialogue.”
Romantic comedies like “Prime” and “It’s Complicated” also became part of the discussion. While “It’s Complicated” still earned impressive box office numbers, many viewers revisiting the film now remain divided about its long-term appeal.
Other titles receiving renewed criticism included “The Laundromat,” “The Giver,” “Rendition,” and “Dark Matter.”
Even some of Streep’s award-recognized work hasn’t escaped scrutiny. Her Netflix satire “Don’t Look Up” divided audiences despite becoming a streaming sensation during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, “The Iron Lady,” which earned the 79-year-old another Oscar win for portraying Margaret Thatcher, still holds mixed reviews more than a decade later.
“Meryl Streep’s performance as The Iron Lady is reliably perfect, but it’s mired in bland, self-important storytelling,” Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus reads per the Daily Mail.
Meryl Streep’s New York Times Snub Still Divides Critics
One of the biggest moments reigniting criticism around Streep’s career happened years earlier when The New York Times excluded her from its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.
The omission shocked many film fans, especially considering Streep’s decades of acclaim and record-breaking Oscar nominations.
Instead, the list highlighted performers including Isabelle Huppert, Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
After backlash erupted, critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott defended the decision publicly.
“Meryl Streep has given some very fine performances in the past 20 years, but she’s also given some not very good ones that are showy and overdone,” Scott explained.
He specifically pointed to “August: Osage County” and “The Iron Lady” while arguing her recent work reflected a “mixed record.”
Dargis also dismissed arguments centered around Streep’s long awards history. “People keep yelling at us about how many Oscar nominations Streep has, as if that’s a metric Tony and I ever paid attention to,” she said.
Dargis continued, “This is not a list of people who have been nominated for Oscars; this is our list of people we really, really respect and love.”
Streep Still Has Several Modern Classics Under Her Belt
Despite the growing criticism, Meryl Streep’s supporters have been quick to point out that her post-2000 career still includes several celebrated films.
Her performance in Charlie Kaufman’s “Adaptation” remains widely praised, and the film was later recognized by both The New York Times and the British Film Institute as one of the century’s best films.
She followed that success with “The Hours,” which was eventually selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The Hollywood star also earned back-to-back Oscar nominations for “Doubt” and “Julie & Julia,” while simultaneously dominating theaters with the hugely successful “Mamma Mia!” franchise.
Later, she impressed critics again in Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” portraying a journalist navigating the Pentagon Papers scandal. Now, Streep is once again sitting atop the box office thanks to “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
The sequel has already grossed more than $433 million worldwide against a $100 million budget and is projected to climb even higher.
Reports also claim that Streep negotiated lucrative box office bonuses that could add another $20 million to her paycheck on top of her $12.5 million upfront salary.
Meryl Streep Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down In Hollywood
Even as debate around her legacy grows louder online, Streep appears completely unfazed by the criticism. At 76, the actress still has a packed slate of upcoming projects that could easily reshape the conversation yet again.
She is currently attached to play legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in Cameron Crowe’s upcoming biopic, a role already generating early Oscar buzz.
Streep is also set to appear alongside Sigourney Weaver in the thriller “Useful Idiots” and will lend her voice to Greta Gerwig’s ambitious Netflix reboot of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
The actress herself has long seemed uninterested in arguments about whether she is Hollywood’s greatest performer.“I don’t think of myself as the greatest anything—cook, housekeeper, actor, or developer of material. I don’t think there’s the best of anything,” she told ABC News in 2010.
