Movie stars of the decade, #25: Meryl Streep

She has a tendency to make every movie she's in into a Meryl Streep movie. This works swimmingly for pictures that are otherwise middling, or a bit worse, with The Devil Wears Prada and the recent Julie & Julia examples of this these that are among her finest work. Even poorly conceived or staged scenes are entertaining, because you can watch her tics and listen to her funny voice of the moment. The downside is that she's often off doing her own thing, rather than placing herself at the service of the director, or carrying her co-stars (Amy Adams must be glad Streep was kept 50 years away in Julie & Julia after being hung out to dry in Doubt), which sometimes makes it feel like she's keeping her vehicles in arrested development. But when working with a great director of actors, like Demme or Altman, she's willing to stand out a little less, and that goes a long way.

Pro wrestling equivalent: Kurt Angle.