A Note on Melissa McCarthy
by Sarah Heyward
I loved Bridesmaids. I really did. Mike and Molly? Haven’t seen it, but hey, I’ll assume it’s doing something right. The fact that Melissa McCarthy is on her merry way to becoming a full-fledged comedy star makes me seriously happy. She’s hilarious, eccentric, silly, and seems to be quite down-to-earth. Brava, Melissa. Brava.
But (you know this was coming), I have some major beef with the way she’s being portrayed in the media right now. Of all the articles, interviews, sidebars, and radio spots to feature this brilliant comedienne, I’m pretty sure not a single one has adequately acknowledged the fact that, to many of us, she was already a star. A star by the name of Sookie St. James, Head Chef at the Dragonfly Inn, Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Oh, Gilmore Girls, how quickly we have forsaken thee.
What do these journalists and entertainment hosts think this woman has been doing for the past ten years? Can she really be called an “overnight sensation” when she was one of the most important characters on one of the best television shows of all time? For SEVEN YEARS? If anything, I was hoping that all this attention on Ms. McCarthy would lead to some kind of national rediscovery of Gilmore Girls: an uptick in DVD sales or ABC Family syndication ratings, rekindled reunion movie rumors, perhaps a posthumous Emmy Award. But barring that, at the very least I’d like to think these newly ardent Melissa McCarthy fans would at least want to check out the work she cut her comedy teeth on!
In her splashy Entertainment Weekly cover story, Gilmore Girls is paid tribute with a meager one-line mention: “There followed a tremendous decade of steady work, including seven years playing the adorably off-kilter chef Sookie on Gilmore Girls.” And then the writer goes on to unfavorably compare that role with the “fully-realized” character she plays in Bridesmaids. Poor Sookie!
What the world needs to realize is that Melissa McCarthy has always been a comedic gem. I present to you a by-no-means-comprehensive list of some of Sookie’s funniest moments as proof:
“The Deer-Hunters” – Season 1, Episode 4 – Sookie tracks down a restaurant reviewer who gave her magic risotto a good but not great review. She’s hilariously persistent and while she comes off as totally insane, he does reevaluate and deem the risotto delicious.
“Cinnamon’s Wake” – Season 1, Episode 5 – Sookie keeps cracking jokes when Lorelai tries to talk to her about something. Lorelai tells her she’s being philosophical, and Sookie comes back with the perfectly delivered, “Oh, serious face. Jean-Paul Sartre.” Brilliant.
“A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” – Season 3, Episode 9 – Sookie gets wasted at her Thanksgiving dinner. Her depiction of a drunkenly serene woman watching her husband’s buffoon friends deep-fry everything she owns is a work of subtle genius.
“Keg! Max!” – Season 3, Episode 19 – While Luke is fixing her oven, Sookie realizes she has accidentally been resting her hand on his butt the entire time. She then proceeds to discuss this with Lorelai while Luke is still sitting there.
“Die Jerk!” – Season 4, Episode 8 – Sookie and her choice of midwife, a large woman named Bruce, are the stars of this episode for me. I love how Sookie kowtows under Bruce’s formidable presence, while also completely ignoring how much Lorelai hates the idea of a midwife.
“Norman Mailer, I’m Pregnant!” – Season 5, Episode 6 – Sookie becomes increasingly infuriated at (the real) Norman Mailer, who has taken up residency at her restaurant at the Dragonfly, yet never orders anything. She also delivers one of my favorite angry moments (“Ann hates me!”) in her reaction to accountant Ann, who tells Lorelai that they need to cut back, possibly by not serving lunch anymore.
“We’ve Got Magic to Do” – Season 6, Episode 5 – Sookie’s horrified reaction to the audience-participation elements of the children’s performance is comedy gold.
“Super Cool Party People” – Season 6, Episode 20 – Sookie’s entire opening monologue describing Lorelai’s drunken behavior at Lane’s wedding should be all anyone is talking about. Ever.
“Driving Miss Gilmore” – Season 6, Episode 21 – Sookie and Jackson discover marijuana in their growing fields. Need I say more?
There are so many other tiny little Sookie moments I could mention (when she holes up in the Dragonfly stealing chocolate and watching reruns, her funny relationship with Emily Gilmore, the fact that she once wanted to make every guest at the Inn a meringue hat, the day that photographers arrive to take pictures of the Inn and she’s put an entire cake on each individual table), but suffice to say she is a multi-dimensional comedic charmer and, ahem, most definitely “fully-realized.”
I don’t want to detract from the immeasurable success Melissa McCarthy has had post-Gilmore. As Richard Gilmore would say (albeit of Rory at the time), “What she tackles, she conquers.” But I do want all of us Gilmore Girls fans to get a little recognition for embracing this woman years before the rest of the world caught on. Look for another impassioned rant when Paris Geller gets the lead role in the next Woody Allen movie.
Images via crushable.com
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11.09.2011 |
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YESSSS!!! Bless this post!
I’m re-watching Gilmore Girls for the umpteenth time (currently amid the drama of season six) and have come to the same realization as you: Melissa McCarthy is gold as Sookie.
One of the moments I have been waiting for is the “super cool party people” monologue, but I had forgotten the hilarious (and somehow believable) escapades that occur when Sookie and Jackson find the marijuana. You’ve given me another fantastic moment to look forward to!
THIS! I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that Melissa McCarthy HAS BEEN amazing for EVER…not just now that she’s in Bridesmaids. Thanks for writing this for everyone to see!!
BRING BACK GILMORE GIRLS!!
Super cool party people bid you super cool adieu!! Sookie is brilliant.
Amen, sister. A-freaking-men!
I AGREE! I was mad at that article for the one line brush off of the brilliance of Sookie. I love the super cool party people bit (and I quote it all the time)… but it ties with the drunken scene from a deep-fried Korean thanksgiving… the way she says “a napkin” and when she goes through the stages of grieving… and then the question “Am i crying or laughing?” cracks me up every time. Every year I watch that on thanksgiving… even if I’m already past it in my re-watchings…
god, i love the gilmore girls.
This is fantastic, I was also blown away when reading the EW article and they barely mentioned her role as Sookie! I love that show and McCarthy :3
I love everything you’re saying to me right now! From your fingers to America’s eyes. ALSO, does anyone remember the episode when she’s introducing herself to Lorelai’s grandmother and does that wonderful dance/reenactment of how she cut the back of her chef’s coat CUZ I DO!
My favorite Gilmore Girls moment by far! Second only to Jess coming back to show Rory the book he wrote… Milo Ventimiglia…
Seriously! Sookie was always my favorite! So glad someone else noticed the lack of Gilmore Girls mentions!
Ah how I miss Gilmore Girls! I wonder what Rory, Lorelai and Sookie are doing for Thanksgiving….every year.
not skipping the rolls!
I couldn’t agree more! Every time I here about Melissa McCarthy’s newfound success I think, SHE WAS SOOKIE FIRST! I also read that Entertainment Weekly article and was very disappointed that her work on Gilmore Girls only got one sentence
Thank you for finally acknowledging what so many of us regular people have been thinking but SO many writers have ignored. Sookie St James was amazing, Gilmore Girls for life!
Amen! I’ve been waiting for people to realize she’s soo much more than Bridesmaids and Mike and Molly. She was one of my favorite characters on Gilmore Girls!
Hear Hear!! One of the reasons I went to watch Bridesmaids is for my love of Sookie.
I love love love this! I’m actually watching Gilmore Girls on ABCFamily as we speak!
Exactly!!! I Loved Gilmore Girls and Sookie made it worth watching! I hope to see MUCH more of Melissa McCarthy!
When Sookie thinks she gets every disease that everyone has (including prostate cancer) and Lorelei confronts her ennui, Sookie snaps out of it with her giddy, squealy “Off-ui!” and I die. Every time.
Finally. As a major Gilmore Girls fan and total admirer of Sookie, I’ve been waiting for this acknowledgement for quite some time. I’m beyond happy for Melissa right now, I mean seriously, she deserved that Emmy for just being the genius she is (I, like Sarah herself, have not yet watched Mike&Molly). I admired her since I started watching Gilmore Girls at the age of 13 and still am… as I said before, FINALLY – this post had to be written.
Yes! Thank you for giving the brilliantly hillarious Sookie St. James some credit! The only thing missing from this list in my opinion is the cookie song from Season 1 Episode 8, Love, War and Snow: “the cookies for the love and the dean and the cookies for the love and the dean and the cookies for the love and the . . .” one of my most favorite Sookie moments!
OMG this is one of my favorite lines and I almost included it but wasn’t sure how memorable it was to other people! Dying right now.
lol! thats soo funny cause i just watched that episode a few days ago! I mostly watched it cause its almost winter and that episode has a scene with lorelai looking up at snow all dazed and what not.. But none the less Sookie is AWESOME!! One of my favourite scenes of her is in like the first season where shes like all over the place and clumsy but somehow the entire kitchen staff has learned to work their way around her and taking care of her silly little mistakes
I’ve been following Melissa McCarthy’s career because of her zany role on Gilmore Girls — she’s always been a comedienne gem! Shame on the media for not recognizing the fact that she’s been killin’ it since her start. I guess they just don’t recognize true hilarity before it’s gone big. Long live Sookie!
Praise Sweet Baby Jesus someone finally got it. My husband and I have been a huge Melissa McCarthy fan since we first experienced her on GG. We seek out her unbelievable performances. The Nines, anyone? Or how about Samantha Who? And let’s not forget the comedic gold she added to Life as We Know it and The Back-Up Plan. Everything she touches is better because she is in it.
I wanted to name my first child Sooki (Sookie) after her character.
I Have loved Melissa McCarthy since the first time she cut her hand (in other words, Season 1 Episode 1 of Gilmore Girls)!
Oh, I’m so glad someone else mentioned the “the opposite of ennui? Off-ui!”
What about Sookie frantically trying to fix her wedding cake in her wedding gown in the middle of the night before the wedding?
Oh thank you so much for this article! I’m super glad for Melissa, but yeah, I’ve known she was utterly hilarious for years before the Emmy came knocking! Seven years is a challenge to achieve for most TV shows and they tend to switch up characters in that time, but Sookie was there from beginning to end and was amazingly funny and insightful and crazy all that time.
I so agree! She was my favorite on GG, and let’s face it – the real Sookie. Sorry, Anna Pacquin.
Amen! I adore Gilmore Girls (even watched it back before the CW existed and it was still the good old WB) and adore Sookie St James. Loved the top moments you put there! I was laughing out loud at all of them!
Preach! It makes me out of control happy that this wonderful woman is finally getting the respect she deserves…but may we never forget Sookie. Love GG, love Melissa, love this piece.
This just made my day! I love Gilmore Girls so much–I watch it every day and have seen every episode more than once. I hope more people start recognizing her Gilmore Girl days!
When Sookie cooks grown up food for the children’s party, when Jackson won’t buy her picnic basket at the auction, when she bllnds herself with hairspray on the nite of Rory’s dance, not to mention the dance-off that ends in a fight over the amount of children she wants to have, her accidentally cheating on Jackson, when she makes foul food because she’s pregnant, as well as many HILARIOUS scenes with Luke that crack me up… there are SOOOO many Sookie gems… the woman who dismissed all of that in her piece- well, her opinion is not at all relevant to me!
I love Bridesmaids, and she is super funny in it, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Gilmore Girls! i LOOOOVE the Gilmore Girls!!!!
I couldn’t agree more! She needs to be recognized more for Sookie! She is just amazing in Gilmore Girls, an amazing show itself.
I wholeheartedly agree – When Sookie is ordered to stay home and Luke replaces her and she sends her sous chef to her with the gravy and realises Luke isn’t straining it 3 times. Or when her sense of taste goes funny cause she’s pregnant. Gosh, she was one of my favourite parts of Gilmore Girls.
Sookie’s quote aptly summarizes our feelings! “Oh, that makes me so mad. And so sad. I’m smad!”
I know I have – we’ve got magic to do stuck jn my head. I’d be angry but it reminds me of my favourite TV girls, so all is forgiven
She will always be Suki to me! RIP GG. I miss that show so much! We deserve a REAL ending!
Thank you so much for this!! I have been a Gilmore Girls fanatic, much to the chagrin of my room mates, for forever, but now the roomies all love Melissa … worse, they act like they discovered her first. My idea is to plant Gilmore Girls DVDs with Melissa’s face in each of their beds. It’ll be a different kind of awakening.
Yes!!!! I absolutely love Gilmore Girls and have dreamed of moving to the NE and finding my own Stars Hollow. Up until the last few weeks, I have refused to watch Mike and Molly because I will always remember her as Suki St. James and I did not want to tarnish that memory in any way. The show is actually pretty good though! I still and always will prefer her as Suki, but I’m glad to see her succeeding. Now I’ve got to go watch some Gilmore Girls!!!
I love Gilmore Girls, and Sookie. She was fabulous, and it is sad that she isn’t being properly recognized in a show that took up almost a decade of her life.
*snaps* THANK YOU!!! Gilmore Girls literally shaped my life as a teenage female and got me through some of the toughest times. Melissa McCarthy is just a gorgeous actress.
I was thinking this exact thing about a week ago!! Thank you so much for writing this it’s SO true!!!!
Everytime someone mentions her as someone from Bridesmaids, I’m like, “No, she’s Sookie St. James!” I will always think of her as our favorite zany chef. Now it’s time Lauren Graham got some recognition!
I concur.
You know, the show itself needs [more] recognition. It’s such a wonderful show. The characters are fantastic. The humor is incredible. Well, I kinda like that it’s an underrated show. It makes my love&appreciation that much deeper
GG!! I want to watch Gilmore Girls again, but I’m a poor college student that can’t afford to splurge on DVDs (rental or ownership).
I used to get bummed if I ever missed an episode on ABC family; then I’d check the tv guide for any GG marathons <3
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST POSTS I'VE COM ACROSS. Top 10 worthy.
I WAS JUST HAVING THIS DISCUSSION TONIGHT!! mind reader much?! I loved her as Sookie. Aww now I miss Gilmore Girls!
I could not agree more! I read all the articles looking for some reference to my favorite show of all time and am always empty handed. Thank god for the Lifetime network for giving me 3 hours of GG every weekend. Now if only I could afford the complete series box set, I’d never have to leave my house again!
i think Melissa is a good example of what happens to every talented actor/ess on a cult tv show that finally lands mainstream recognition. Gilmore Girls was a big show, obviously, but i think it was big in a sense that it had a very large loyal fanbase. like, everyone probably knows/heard of the show but not everyone watched it. does this make sense?
example, i think it went the same for Ryan Reynolds. i loved the show “Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place” and i think it was a pretty successful show (i think it ran 3 years?) but Ryan was named The Breakout Star only after he did the Van Wilder movie.
guess it’s like my favorite quote (from who i forgot) that said “it takes 10 years of hardwork to become an overnight sensation”. i think that puts it very well.
I love Sookie!! I want to be just like her when I grow up…
Here, here!
Always my favorite character in Gilmore Girls!
You bring my thoughts to life. Thank you and even if there is no longer a possibility of a Gilmore Girls revelation, only us true fans will have that slight kindle of hope for the rest of our lives!
You have just said everything I have ever thought, ever, in my entire life, in a lovely way. Bless you! Bring Gilmore Girls back!!!
I’m ready for Melissa to kick ‘em where it counts! (or however that phrase is supposed to go)
Gilmore Girls will live on til the end of time.
With Nena’s 99 Luftballoons playing in the background.
Whilst reading every book by every author with a Russian surname.
While wearing your porn star t-shirt to Friday night/silver spoon dinner.
amen! if lorelai is my tvbff, sookie is at the top of the ‘who do we want to hang out with at the black, white & red?’ list…
loved this post! sookie is one of my all-time favorite characters. and don´t even get me started on GG as a whole… i tend to get annoyingly excited
I lOVE Gilmore Girls! Thank you for this article! I loved her as Sookie! xx
Melissa McCarthy will always be Sookie to me!!