Jane Lynch, long on talent and short on significant roles, is having a breakthrough year

Jane Lynch is having a very big year, and it's tempting to believe that this is a sign, perhaps from God, and that things will soon be turning around for the rest of us. The Dow will regain its previous high, the ozone layer will close, Congress will pass healthcare legislation of which everyone approves, the entire population of the United States will learn how to pronounce "nuclear" -- all will be right with the world. Because many of us have doted on Lynch for years, it's about time she hit the mainstream.

First there was the gig in "Glee," Fox's much buzzed about musical comedy that sent its well-received test episode to TV screens this summer and officially premiered last month. As Sue Sylvester, the Amazon queen of McKinley High's cheerleading squad, Lynch managed to steal the show without singing a note. Journey? Who needs your stinkin' Journey?

Then she went toe to toe with Meryl Streep as Julia Child's sister in "Julie & Julia." Watching the two of them prepare for a party by regarding their substantial reflections with a mixture of fond optimism and rue was one of film's perfect moments.

In between, Lynch showed up in "Party Down" and "Two and a Half Men," had small roles in "Spring Breakdown" and "Weather Girl," did voice work in the third "Ice Age" and even "Handy Manny," for heaven's sake. She's the quintessential working actor, and that is why her good year is cause for general celebration. It's proof that hard work pays off, that talent will win out, that there is justice in a business that often seems on the verge of suicide-by-trendiness. There is hope, then, for us all.

For years, Lynch has been the kind of performer critics mention by name, even if she's on-screen for three seconds, just to show how savvy we are, how attuned to talent. She's like that certain downtown bistro that makes the best chicken curry or stuffed grape leaves or cinnamon rolls you've ever tasted but where you can still get a table on Saturday night.

No matter how small her role or how bad the project, you know that while Lynch is occupying the screen, you will enjoy what you are watching and inevitably wish she had more lines. She is funny, she is fearless and she works with what she's got. All the time.

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