KellyKlepfer
"Charming, Fun, Full-Bodied with a Slightly Bitter Aftertaste"
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Rating:
+4
I've been eagerly awaiting Julie and Julia. Not that I'm a huge follower of Julia. I remember her from my childhood...the quirky voice, the occasional glimpse of her on our small screen television. My mom didn't own "The Book" (the 1961 version of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1) or if she did, I never was allowed to touch it. Julie Powell's book Julie and Julia enticed me. I'm a blogger so Julie Powell's blogging adventure intrigued me. I was disappointed in the lack of Julia in Powell's memoir. And a little overwhelmed by some of the things that took up space that Julia could've filled.
The movie. Ah. On one hand I can say that I loved it. Feel good? Check. Two women, different generations, situations and struggles taking life by the throat and just doing it. Check. Definitely feel good. I loved the supportive and loving men in the lives of Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep, in an enchanting performance, oozes goodwill and charm, embracing life as a generous and lifesized Julia Child. Several scenes were laugh outloud funny, others poignant, and I would have been content with the story of Julia Child. Period. The film even included a Dan Akroyd as Julia Child laugh moment and remake scenes of The French Chef ala Meryl.
Julie Powell's life, on the other hand, lacked a bit. Amy Adams, as Julie Powell, weeping on the floor was very amusing. But there was a disconnect somewhere... in the script, the interpretation, or the tainting in my own mind by having read her memoir. Julie Powell, on the big screen, came across as whiny, weak and fragile. The book Julie Powell (I've not read the blog, so I can't compare there) is a don't-like-it-then-you-know-
On the family friendliness of this film -- it earned it's PG13 with a few mild makeout scenes, a language list that included at least one each of all the major curse words without overly drowning the audience in expletives. One scene included a descriptive term referencing a male body part or rooster, if you will.
I can recommend it as an entertaining film full of delightful scenery and outdoor markets, laden tables, well-acted characters, charming interactions, and overall deliciousness with a tiny bit of aftertaste of something not so fabulous. Plan to leave the theater with the desire for food or an adventure or a great combination of the two.
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More Julie & Julia (movie) reviews
review by MichaelN.
January 18, 2010
The only difficult thing about watching this fun movie is trying to not be hungry. I really enjoyed the two tales of Julia Child learning to cook French in the 1940's and Julie, an aspiring author who cooks all of Julia's recipes over the course of a year and blogs about it. Meryl Streep never ceases to amaze me with her talent as Julia Child who gets the idea to publish a book for Americans on French Cooking. She takes classes with some snooty men and is so determined to … more
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review by DavidGreen.
October 05, 2009
If for nothing else this film would be worth seeing for the brilliant reincarnation of Julia Child by Meryl Streep. Her performance I found absolutely mesmerizing. I knew very little about Julia Child - apart from the book and some of the TV shows. She seemed to me a remote and unknowable woman - but after the movie I feel I know a lot more about her whole approach to life. Her crazy uniqueness, warmth and ability to connect with all kinds of people stands out. Sure it followed … more
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review by Jerry_Saperstein.
July 04, 2010
Julie Powell (Amy Adams), young and still in love with her husband Eric (Chris Messina) move to Queens, New York and take up residence in a small apartment over a pizzeria. Julie yearns to be a writer and is despondent over the time she spent writing a novel that didn't get finished or find a publisher. She is a functionary in a government office and wants to do something with her life, make something of herself. She decides to teach herself how to cook really well and launches … more
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review by bookfan5555.
May 12, 2010
A while back, I went to see Julie & Julia at the movie theater and thoroughly entertained. I enjoyed this movie very much and it held my interest throughout the whole movie. Meryl Streep was simply amazing as Julia Child. She had her mannerisms, the way that she did things, and how she did things down so well. It was amazing how much she was like her. Julia Child wanted to find something to do in her life and she found it in cooking. Julie Powell was floundering in her life … more
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Quick Tip by stacie12.
June 08, 2010
I enjoyed the plot and it was extremely cute but it was just too long. After two hours I sat back and said, "wow, this movie is STILL on?"
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review by KevinTRod.
August 15, 2009
The advantages with Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia" is that it has a winning cast of actors, the subject is not terribly predictable, and it makes you smile a lot. The big drawbacks to this film is that it is essentially two movies in one, one of the storylines isn't as interesting as the other, and that makes it one film too many. On one hand we have the storyline of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) living in France, taking cooking classes, and writing what would become the book that would … more
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review by MarySoderstrom.
August 24, 2009
My son-in-law said he wanted to go home and cook as soon as we finished watching the quite delightful film about blogger Julie Powell and her distant mentor Julia Child, America's French Chef. He's a Frenchman from Lyon who trained in the restaurant businesss, while his life has taken many twists and turns since, he still loves to cook. (Check out the menu of the meal he and Elin made for us as a Christmas present a couple of years ago to see just how he's been able to combine … more
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Meryl Streep was amazing as Julia. Adored the movie. The Julia Child part of the story was the better half.
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Interesting way of presenting the lives of two women, 50 years apart but facing similar problems in life. It was interesting to see the lifestyle of a foreign diplomat during the early 1950s (Julie). Likewise, it was funny to see a bored woman succeeding with her cooking challenge and blogging about it. I wouldn't recommend it for younger audiences because of its slow pace. I also hated the scene where they steam the lobster alive! Overall, a fun and interesting movie.
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review by ZeeDan.
January 22, 2010
Meryl Streep hit two movies out of the ball park in 2009, It's Complicated and Julie and Julia. Although I have never really cared for Ms. Streep, she shines in these two films. Julie and Julia is a wonderfully romantic film. The director, Nora Ephron, did a wonderful job with the two parallel stories of modern day Julie making Julia Child's recipes and blogging, and Julia Child writing 'Mastering French Cooking.' The film alternates between Julie Powell in 2002 taking on … more
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About the reviewer
Kelly Klepfer (KellyKlepfer)
Ranked #44
Ranked #44
Member Since:
Feb 11, 2009
Last Login: Jun 8, 2012 02:25 AM UTC
Last Login: Jun 8, 2012 02:25 AM UTC
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About this movie
"
Julie & Julia is a comedy-drama film, written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years in her culinary career, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, a woman who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook.
Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Julie Powell. In August 2002, Powell started documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project,The Julie/Julia Project into a book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (Little, Brown, 2005). The paperback was retitled Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously (Back Bay Books, 2006). Both books adapted by Ephron were written and published in the same time frame of 2004 to 2006. The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog.Philadelphia Weekly
Ephron began filming Julie & Julia in March 2008. Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child, and Amy Adams appears as Julie Powell. The film officially premiered on July 30, 2009 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City and opened throughout North America on August 7, 2009.
Director:
Nora Ephron
Genre:
Drama,
Comedy
DVD Release Date:
December 8, 2009
Runtime:
123 minutes
Studio:
Sony Pictures
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