Julie And Julia

Julie & Julia

Directed by: Nora Ephron

Starring: Meryl Streep

Genre: Comedy/Drama/ Romance

Run Time: 123 min.

Release Date: August 2009

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

JULIE & JULIA was a surprisingly inspiring comedy/drama/romance that I found myself easily digesting. It wasn’t just the food (although that certainly helped make me crave butter), but the easy romance that came from both the Julie side and Julia Childs’ history.

Although I’d never met Julia Child, nor seen her kitchen at the Smithsonian, nor read any of her books, I did see some of her television shows growing up thanks to my mother having the channel on a local PBS station. I remember wondering what was supposed to be so interesting about this large woman who often dropped, splattered, and messed up her food preparations. Ignorance in youth is a wondrous thing.

As I grew up, I began to see Julia Childs’ cookbooks all over; in friends homes, on every bookstore shelf. Hmm. Maybe I was missing something. And this movie shows me what I never understood as a kid. That this woman, this fumbling, laughing, good-natured lady, had done something that no other person had ever attempted. Not only did she invade the professional chef status of men in the kitchen, but she also made French cuisine accessible to millions of English readers.

This story, which delves beyond cooking and into romance and the dramatic life Julia led, also introduces us to a new format for would-be chefs/authors: the blog. Amy Adams (SUNSHINE CLEANING) stars as Julie Powell, a woman with a desire to be a writer (or something) but has trouble getting going. Until one day she decides to try cooking all of Julia Childs’ 500-plus recipes in her "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking" book in 365 days ...and blogging about it. Little does Julie know of the storm of followers she’ll get. This all takes place about one year post-911 in New York, too. And Julie’s husband Eric (Chris Messina, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA) helps push her in the blogging direction, supporting her through the successes and many disasters, including a hilarious scene involving the demise of live lobsters.

Contrasting with this is Julia Childs’ life (Meryl Streep, MAMMA MIA!) in the late 1940s and early 1950s as she makes her way into Chefdom. Streep’s performance is astounding and made me wonder if it were possible for her to actually play a bad part. She’s such a chameleon that you never saw Streep, and only witnessed Childs extraordinary rise onto the cooking world stage. More underrated than probably any actor out there, though, is Stanley Tucci (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA) as Julia’s life-long husband, confidant, and lover, Paul. It was so endearing to see a man of this era support his struggling wife. He was always there for her, helping her, giving advice, photographing her ...and having a VERY healthy sex-life with her.

The contrast between Julia’s early life and Julie as a writer/blogger are interesting and hold enough modern-day visuals alongside mid-20th century Europe with its cobbled streets and post-WW II drabness to keep most viewers watching and engaged, even if they’re not interested in the history of American cooking.

The final point of interest for Julie & Julia is that it’s funny. It is often effortlessly comical thanks to Streep’s amazing performance. One particular scene that still stands out for me is when Julia meets up with her even taller sister Dorothy (Jane Lynch, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION) and the two run at each looking more like Clydesdales about to connect headlong. The aforementioned lobster scene is also hysterical (as is one where Julia has to cut into a lobster’s head). These situations are filmed with such exquisite ease that you can’t help but laugh at them.

Even if you have absolutely no interested in food or blogging, this film will surely have entertainment value for you. And if you are interested in either or both, beware; you just might end up ingesting more than you can handle.

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Image from Julie & Julia

Julie Powell (Amy Adams) writes in her food blog