Nitpickers and naysayers among longtime SBIFF observers might question the choice of Jamie Lee Curtis as a recipient of the Modern Master award. This bunch (present company included) also posed the same validity question when Will Smith and Brad Pitt were granted the lofty honor. But as Curtis showed the crowd packing the Arlington Theatre last night, the comedy/ horror/occasionally serious screen veteran delivered one of the funnest, and funniest tribute-receiver acts in SBIFF memory.
Curtis’ comedy-horror dichotomy was neatly summarized through two films from 2022: the (presumable) finale of the Halloween series which launched her, with the Michael Myers obliterating Halloween Ends and, of course, her delectably eccentric Deirdre role in the wild time-space twister Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won her an Oscar nom nod. Oh, and she also appears on TV, peddling yogurt with medicinal properties.
As she pointed out at the Arlington, “I am the only Oscar nominee who sells yogurt that makes you shit.” But seriously, she has also taken command of her powers on and behind the screen, noting that “it’s about understanding and claiming my power.”