This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.
This week:
- That George Santos interview is trash.
- The Color Purple performance that deserves an Oscar.
- Cameron Diaz speaks the truth.
- Cher having perfect taste.
- A moment in history.
One of the Best Performances of the Year
The Color Purple is one of award season’s last contenders to debut, and, as has been the case for the four decades since Alice Walker published the novel it’s based on, there’s so much to talk about. In fact, the film—an adaptation of the Broadway musical more than a remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie—is very much a product of being “so much.” Some might even say “too much;” I think it’s admirable how many big swings director Blitz Bazawule takes, even if not every one lands with the same impact.
But there’s one thing that I expect a unanimous opinion about from everyone who sees the film: Danielle Brooks’ stunning barn-burner of a turn as Sofia, the performance I’m most passionate about scoring an Oscar nomination this year.
Sofia is a person who exists on a more electrified plane than the rest of us. Her radiance is irresistible, and her pain is unbearable. Brooks summons that full spectrum in Sofia’s early, famous monologue that Oprah Winfrey also delivered in the original film, leading to a performance of the song “Hell No” that got mid-screening applause when I first watched the film. And that energy continues the entire movie, with Sofia right alongside Fantasia Barrino’s Celie as they fight for dignity and hope.
Lightness and gravity are dual parts of the human experience, which Brooks seems to acutely be aware of not just with her work in The Color Purple, but throughout her career—beginning with her breakout turn as Taystee in Orange Is the New Black. What’s always been inspirational about her performances is the active, infectious ability to find joy, without discounting the reality of darkness.
I, like many viewers, was stunned that the same actress who brought Taystee’s sunny comic relief to that show arrived just as skilled when dramatizing the bleakness of the character’s arc as the series progressed. Sofia in The Color Purple is one of the most ecstatic, enthusiastically fun characters in America’s cultural canon, but she is also a testament to the cruel reality of how often brutal, unjust trauma threatens the brightest lights among us. The most heartbreaking fact is that Sofia expects to experience said trauma, whether it’s during her confrontation with Celie that becomes the “Hell No” number, or the fact that she, within seconds, knows what’s about to befall her after an altercation in the town square, and pleads for her kids to be ushered away before her inevitable beating happens, so that they will not see.
Brooks crafts a character cognizant of her past, the reality of her lot in life, and crusading for a better future. Give her an Oscar for it.
Cameron Diaz Is Onto Something
I love all the attention Cameron Diaz has been getting for the interview in which she says “we should normalize separate bedrooms for couples,” because a) I love whenever flawless celebrity Cameron Diaz is getting attention and b) she is right.
“To me, I would literally, I have my house, you have yours. We have the family house in the middle. I will go and sleep in my room. You go sleep in your room. I’m fine,” she said on Molly Sim’s podcast, speaking a truth that Congress should sign into law. “And we have the bedroom in the middle that we can convene in for our, you know, relations,” she added, having thought through everything.
I feel this sentiment deeply. I’m a person who, when I’m with somebody, either wants to feel so viscerally bonded to them that, if I could crawl inside their skin, it wouldn’t be close enough—or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, gets so annoyed by intimacy that if the person dares breathe the same air as me I could murder them. Diaz’s solution is perfect for people as ridiculous and unjustified in their whims as I am. I thank her for her service.
Icons Praising Icons
It is incredibly difficult to release a new holiday song in the age of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” omnipresence that feels like it could actually be a future classic, but Cher pulled off that Miracle with “DJ Play a Christmas Song.” Only helping that argument is Kelly Clarkson recent cover it during the “Kellyoke” portion of her talk show, proving that it is ripe for interpretation and, as such, Kevin Fallon belting it to no one in particular as he walks around his apartment procrastinating cleaning—the mark of truly great art. (Watch it here.)
That Cher watched Clarkson’s performance and posted about her ecstatic reaction online means so much to me, who says daily prayers to both pop divas. Here’s Cher’s appropriate, highly correct reaction to Clarkson’s rendition:
Remembering History
It’s been four years since Cats was released and caused the pandemic. How are you commemorating?
What to watch this week:
Anyone But You: Turns out Glen Powell being so handsome and so charming is great for rom-coms. (Now in theaters)
What If?: A rare win in a rough year for Marvel. (Now on Disney+)
All of Us Strangers: Simply one of the most gorgeous films of the year. Andrew Scott deserves an Oscar nom. (Now in theaters)
What to skip this week:
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: I mean, is anyone surprised that this is garbage? (Now in theaters)
