It's Always Sunny In Osage County

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I don't have a Pulitzer or anything so what do I know, but it seems to me there's a better structured August: Osage County out there in the ether, waiting to be snatched out and re-formed - what I want is more of a mid-film hand-off, as Meryl and Julia roll around on the floor, where it becomes clear, as it's bellowed, who's the mother now. A perspective shift, or just a narrower focus perhaps, on its central ladies. Part One: Meryl. Part Two: Julia. Is the play like this? I didn't see it but something tells me at three hours on stage it's even more spread thin with its own plains-based Lord of the Rings level world-building. (Little Charles is the limpest dragon I ever done seen.)

As is it the movie becomes a whack-a-mole of whether this actor is right for this part and are nailing their Oscar clip or not, and sometimes they do and you're so totally into it (my god I want to go home and hang out watching Chris Cooper and Margo Martindale for awhile) and sometimes notsomuch (is there any iteration of Ewan McGregor's character that's ever worked? That role seems as blank as Ewan's expensively maintained chompers). 

As for the cage-match between Meryl and Julia it's as much of an interesting showdown between varying acting styles as it was between Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in The Master, only you know, it's a bunch of melodrama and lady stuff so everybody scoffs or whatever - Meryl's a tic-roasted ham! Julia's out of her league! I personally found them both very fine, and just wish a surer hand had been rubbing them off each other for sparks.

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