Olivia ColmanandWill Poulterappear in hearty roles inThe BearSeason 2, alongside a decadent helping of well-known performers includingMolly Gordon,John Mulaney, andSarah Paulson. Out of them, who can get the heart rate going fast? Well, the best surprise is whenJamie Lee Curtisportrays a raw intensity she hasn’t gotten to play before. Her character is not emotionally depleted, like Deirdre Beaubeirdre inEverything Everywhere All At Once, and unravels more chaotically than Laurie Strode inHalloween. Everyone should be happy Curtis left behind Activia to return to acting, as theOscar-winning actresstears into her costars for a stressful family reunion inThe Bear’s latest season.
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a young chef from the fine dining world, returns to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after a tragedy. As he navigates the chaotic environment of the small kitchen, Carmy must manage the struggles of turning around the failing business while dealing with his own grief and personal demons. The series dives deep into the intense world of culinary arts, highlighting the challenges of running a restaurant, the bonds formed among staff, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.
‘The Bear’ Season 2 Hosts a Messy Christmas Episode
In Episode 6, “Fishes,” the cooking timers go off without warning, much like the mood swings of Donna Berzatto (Curtis). She’s busy making the Feast of the Seven Fishes, pissed off when her relatives try to help and pissed off even more when they don’t. Her kitchen is a disaster, with sauce on the microwave and the ceiling, nothing like the clean stations of her son Carmy (Jeremy Allen White). Overfilled pots bubble on the stovetops. Gravy needs to be stirred, “because nobody eats this shit.” Her crimson nails are like claws, that can hurt others or more likely herself — and they are messy! Donna slathers on butter to bread with her bare hands. She constantly smokes and drinks, but no one will dare confront her about this to get on her bad side. Her daughter Sugar (Abby Elliott) pours out a bottle of wine, using her body to hide what she’s doing.Donna freezes at one point, confusion on her face as she frantically hollers, “Why isn’t somebody listening to me? No, no, why is no one listening tome!” Carmy tries to quickly adapt to the next direction Donna demands, as his mother raises her voice, “I said move the pot. I said move the fucking pot!”
Into the evening, the mother and son share a moment. The camera is tight on her face, exposing smudged makeup and an eyelash that desperately needs to be reapplied. The kitchen is a mess, now she is too. “I make things beautiful for them and no one makes things beautiful for me,” she mutters sadly. Once Carmy tries to get her to join everyone else for dinner, he inadvertently provokes her. Donna turns on him with a chilling demeanor, asking in a hushed tone, “Do we have a problem?” She repeats, her words slipping into tenderness,but those first few times are unnerving. You never know what side you’re going to get with Donna. It makes sense the night ends with the Berzatto mother crashing her car into the house, a self-destructive method to vent her frustrations.
“Fishes” rests firmly on Curtis’ shoulders.She plays Donna as a difficult mother who arms herself fiercely on the outside, while barely holding in deep fears of abandonment. The camera work and sound design keep everyone around her on edge. Close-ups see the strain on her face or the second her unstable mental state switches from excited to distressing. If she isn’t on-screen falling apart, her yells are heard in the background of other rooms. The Christmas song to introduce Donna goes to theRamones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight).” It plays underneath the scene, loud enough in scenes where there is already plenty going on. The ferocious, unstable Donna isn’t the first time the actress has played such a character.
Jamie Lee Curtis Has Played Chaotic and Fragile Mothers Before
In thethrillerMother’s Boys, Curtis plays Jude, a mother who abandons her family, to then return and force herself back in. She smashes her face with a picture frame to accuse her husband’s new lover of the bleeding cuts. She cuts the brakes on the family car for an inevitable crash. At least Donna has the rationality, if it can be called that, to crash her car into a roomwithouther relatives getting bulldozed.
If Jude resembles the chaotic behavior of Donna, her fragile mental state brings to mind the older Laurie Strodein the recentHalloweentrilogy. In the 2018 installment, a dinner celebration falls apart when Laurie arrives. Her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) instantly disapproves when her mother buckles under the trauma she can’t heal from, which has haunted her for decades. Her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) can’t help but comfort her, unable to know what else to do. The sadness in the scene is powerful, but the Halloween trilogy finds more impact from gory kills rather than relying on the human survivors.The Beardeclares Curtis is not only capable of performing this kind of character in a different context, but she can also be the linchpin without the need for typical danger relating to a thriller or slasher.She can be the horror show all on her own.
In ‘The Bear’ Season 2, Jamie Lee Curtis Plays the Explosive Donna Berzatto
Sugar smokes outside the house in the episode’s opening minutes, as Mikey (Jon Bernthal) joins her. Indistinct noise escapes from the open door, until Donna’s words break through, loud and clear: “Come on guys, stop!” Mikey attempts to get his sister to resist the urge to ask the question that will set Donna off. “With her, not handling it, it’s the best way to handle it,” he tells her. Poor Sugar deals with Donna threatening to shoot herself. That is enough to understand why, in the episode’s final minutes, Sugar can’t help herself in asking the dreaded question: “Are you okay?” Donna takes it personally, but she doesn’t only berate her daughter.
This Cameo in ‘The Bear’ Season 2 Proves There’s No Such Thing as Small Roles
This character’s brief appearance is still guaranteed to tug on your heartstrings.
Of the who’s-who to guest star in “Fishes,”Sarah Paulson also brings a naturalism as cousin Michelle. It’s a more grounded, warmer performance compared to many of her beloved, darker characters. She joins Sugar in recognizing Donna isn’t doing too well, which earns a sudden glare from Donna. If looks could kill. Michelle lowers her voice, looking down to avoid the death stare and ensuing words. Unlike Sugar,Mikey and Carmy match their mother’s aggressive personality.Carmy might have a better handle on it, while his brother collapses under the weight of his own rage. He manages to turn a childish attempt to frustrate Uncle Lee (Bob Odenkirk) into a full-on brawl.
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Bear’ Season 2 Is Perfect Casting
During theSeason 2 finale ofThe Bear, Carmy gets himself locked in the walk-in freezer. Stuck inside, he opens up on his current feelings, and it’s bad luck he vents out his concerns about Claire (Molly Gordon), unknowingly to Claire herself. Richie learns of this, getting into a fight with Carmywhere he calls him by his mother’s name.It’s obvious what the family thinks of this woman, someone who sabotages many good things in her life. When Donna does appear briefly, she is unable to enter the renovated restaurant, fearing how she may ruin the evening. She wants to turn away and leave, needing to be told it’s okay to do so. Guilt eats away at her, plus a good amount of self-pity, in this heartbreaking last glimpse of the Berzatto matriarch.
The role is a special one to Jamie Lee Curtis, withthe actress posting on Instagram, “When I saw the first episode last summer and Sugar asks Carmen if he had spoken to their mother, in that second I knew that I would play her. Don’t ask me how. I just knew. A year later, after the wild success of the brilliant first season, Chris Storer offered me the role of a lifetime.“Donna Berzatto’s next appearance can’t come soon enough.The tension that surrounds her, specifically in “Fishes,” is an anxiety-inducing sensationThe Bearknows how to do well. It instills the kind of awful realization when someone understands family drama will end very badly. In two episodes, Jamie Lee Curtis does not play around as the volatile and hurting Donna. Everyone should be thankful for the stress she gives.
