Tina Fey to flex her dramatic chops in new film with Meryl Streep (but there's comedy in it, too)

  A Tina Fey story?  Better get out the trusty "Best Photo of Tina Fey of All Timez".

Tina Fey's done very well for herself since leaving Saturday Night Live, and as well she should: she's beautiful, funny, whip-smart, and can write like...well, a mofo, not to put too fine a point on it.  For awhile now, film geeks have been wondering whether or not Fey would ever be given the chance to flex her dramatic chops as an actress-- having already proven that's she's more than capable of handling comedy-- and now it appears that she'll have the chance: Stanley Tucci will direct the comedienne in Mommy & Me, a film that's set to feature Fey opposite 16-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep.  Because if you're going to leave comedy for drama, you might as well do it with the best.  Read on for the details, my gentle Examiner readers...

Have you been chomping at the bit to see what Tina Fey can do when given dramatic material?  Well, today's your lucky day, Citizen: Fey has just signed on to star in Mommy & Me for director Stanley Tucci, a film that's being described with one of the ugliest words in the English language: "Dramedy".  That's news enough as it is, but it gets better:  Fey will be acting opposite Meryl Streep, whom you might recall from one of the 16 different acceptance speeches she's given during an Oscars ceremony.  Here's the news:

A film package being circulated to studios by Creative Artists Agency has an appealing cast and enticing premise: Tucci would direct stars Streep and Tina Fey in a project tentatively titled "Mommy & Me," according to sources familiar with the package.

First of all, Stanley Tucci is awesome, and anyone that tells you otherwise needs a swift and merciless beating.  Second of all, I'm curious to see what Fey does with dramatic material, so I'm all for this idea.  As of right now, there are no plot details available for the script, but the project being classified as a "dramedy" leads me to believe that it'll feature both comedy...and drama.  It took a lot of investigation on my part just to get that much, so, y'know, be grateful.  The L.A. Times goes on to say:

There's no script and no writers yet on the film, which is obviously at the shopping/development stage, but the central idea is that of a mother-daughter comedy that will give the two actresses a chance to flash their comedic and dramatic chops. There's also something sort of brilliant about the title: If Fey's "Date Night" drew couples to theaters on their own date nights, "Mommy & Me" could have a similar effect on mothers and daughters looking for some bonding time at the multiplex.

Whoa, whoa, whoa: there's no script and no writers?  Well, then, it'll very likely be some time until we're actually deciding whether or not to buy tickets to Mommy & Me (and hopefully a long enough time that they'll have the opportunity to change that title, which is both obnoxious and a pain in the ass to type out thanks to its ampersand).  According to the IMDB, Tina Fey's only got the Dreamworks Animation comedy Megamind on her plate right now, which means she's free and clear to sign on for Tucci's film once it's been written.  Meryl Streep, meanwhile, has performed admirably in comedies before, most notably Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life, which is a charming little movie you probably haven't seen.

What do you think, folks?  Will Mommy & Me reveal that Tina Fey's just as gifted with drama as she is with comedy, or should she just stick with what she knows?  Sound off in the comments section below, my precious snowflakes.  While you're here, hit the "Subscribe" button up top to get all future Comedy Examiner articles delivered straight to your inbox as soon as they're published so that you don't miss our next update on this one.  Why, just look at all the fun you've been missing around here lately:

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(photos: top--iwatchstuff.com, bottom--zimbio.com)