I’ll confess, I’ve got a raging girl crush on Melissa, and it’s only getting worse as she continues to thrive. It all started for me with The Gilmore Girls. Melissa’s Sookie St. James was one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite shows, and she made me a fan for life.
Thankfully, Melissa also has good taste in roles, because so far I haven’t been disappointed in anything she’s chosen to be a part of. Samantha Who? might not have caught my attention without Melissa, and I’m glad it did. And Mike and Molly? Forget about it. Even if you’re not usually a traditional sitcom sort of comediva, give it a try. Melissa and her co-star, Billy Gardell, are hilarious, comfort food style fun and totally worth a DVR subscription.
Most of Melissa’s roles, including her scene stealing character in Bridesmaids (if you haven’t seen it yet, go, now, don’t wait, you may lose your Comediva Girl Power Badge if you don’t), have been some variation of the hilarious best friend. She’s good at it, and very patient with being a character actress. But, with Mike and Molly, she’s proving that you don’t have to look like every other girl in order to be a star. As she told Amy Kaufman of the LA Times:
“I’ve always kind of been the supporting person or the friend, which is perfectly fine and fun, but I always want to push that,” Melissa said. “Have I been up for leads in movies? Not really. I don’t think I had the opportunity before.”
Hopefully, she’ll have the opportunity soon. Only Melissa could have taken her kooky, tough-as-nails role in Bridesmaids and turned her into the kind of person you really wish was your friend too by the end of the film. I can’t wait to see her rocking a leading role on film, just the way she has on TV.
Melissa may finally be segueing out of playing BFFs, but she’s the kind of lady that any comediva would love to be besties with. She’s smart, funny, hardworking and a happy wife to a funny guy, Ben Falcone, and mom to Vivian and Georgette (how cute are those names???).
Melissa is just past 40 years old, which you’d never know looking at her. She grew up in Plainfield, Illinois, and started her comedy career in the Groundlings comedy troupe. She also met her hubby there. She’s not the only funny lady in her family, either; her cousin, Jenny McCarthy, is also a comediva of note.
So what lessons are we learning from Melissa McCarthy, other than general awesomeness? Part of what makes Melissa’s characters so amazingly appealing is the detail and love she brings to the role. When Melissa steps into a role, she makes that role into a real person, even when it’s drawn in as broad strokes as she does her Megan character in Bridesmaids.
“There’s just something about that no-nonsense Midwestern woman in a sensible shoe that I really love,” McCarthy told the LA Times. “I like having specificity in a character. In the movie, I had long acrylic nails with French tips. I like strange little unexpected things, because if you start to pull those together, you have a really specific interesting character as opposed to a caricature.”
Whether you’re the sort of comediva that creates characters or if you’re a character in your own right, this is an idea to take note of. The details, the little incongruities, are what make a person three dimensional and loveable. Revel in those details, both as a creator and as a living, breathing, human character. Don’t try to hide the little peculiarities that make you who you are. The world will love you for them!
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I just watched the movie The Nines with Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy. A strange indie film with twists and turns, it had Melissa starring as a character in the film, herself, and a character within a television show that she had also starred in (obviously hard to explain but it is on Netflix so check it out.) She was amazing! Can’t wait to see more good work from this funny lady!
After watching Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids – I have a new found respect for her! The way she made realism the joke – and not the character, was just BRILLIANT! Awesome work Melissa! I hope to work with you someday! You’re my kinda TALENT!