{"id":162313,"date":"2026-08-22T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162313"},"modified":"2026-08-21T07:16:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:16:46","slug":"kristen-wiig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162313","title":{"rendered":"“If you’re creating anything at all, it’s really dangerous to care about what people think.” — Kristen Wiig"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nToday is the birthday of one of the greatest actors working today. <\/p>\n

I can’t seem to stop mentioning Kristen Wiig in my writing. I mention her even if she isn’t the main subject. She’s my favorite. I am in awe of what she can do. She’s the closest we have to the great character-actresses-as-leading-ladies of the 1970s. There’s a reason she cast Jill Clayburgh as her own mother in Bridesmaids<\/i>. Wiig is the artistic\/creative daughter of Jill Clayburgh. With a little Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman in the mix, forming her own witches’ brew of genius.<\/p>\n

So here’s an archive of the pieces where she comes up, either at the center, or peripherally: <\/p>\n

Let’s talk about back-ting. Scenes where actors convey everything with their backs. A very niche obsession but I wrote about it for Film Comment<\/i><\/a>. Wiig has a HELL of a back-ting moment in Hateship Loveship<\/i>, a movie I highly recommend. Incidentally, along with the back-ting moment in Hateship Loveship<\/i>, she also has a HELL of a “mirror moment” – which I didn’t mention in my big “mirror piece” for Oscilloscope<\/a>, but maybe I should do a part 2, because I just scratched the surface with the topic. <\/p>\n

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\nHateship Loveship<\/i> (2014)<\/p>\n

I reviewed Hateship Loveship<\/i> for Ebert<\/a> and the film was such a pleasant discovery. So many people still haven’t seen it. Check it out! <\/p>\n

I also mentioned her prominently in another Film Comment<\/i> piece, about women who “came up” in comedy<\/a>, either improv or sketch comedy, who are also phenomenal dramatic actresses, some of the best, really, especially in terms of depth of character development. People with this background go deeper than most. And while Bridesmaids<\/i> is obviously hilarious, Wiig is – at the same time – giving a very deep performance showing loneliness, disappointment, heartbreak, panic. That character is a fuck-up<\/i>.<\/p>\n

This very small moment: <\/p>\n

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\nThat whole SCENE, really … I have lived it. I have been her. Repeatedly. Not so much anymore, but when I was at the stage in my life when everyone was getting married. I flushed with recognition during that scene. I wish people understood that what she does in that scene – create a panic attack\/hot flash on camera, in real time, her wildly sad eyes gleaming out of her wildly laughing face … this is a Madeline Kahn level brilliance, and since I consider Madeline Kahn to be one of the few sui generis geniuses of the acting art, you know I mean it. The structure of the scene is there – Wiig knows what the moment requires – and when the moment arrives, she just jumps off the cliff into the midst of it, letting her talent and instinct do the rest. It’s SUCH a sad moment but it is simultaneously so funny<\/i>. Very very few people can do that. <\/p>\n

So she can do that and then she can do Garth and Kat. <\/p>\n

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