A friend of mine has been looking forward to this one for quite awhile. Though this isn't usually my kind of movie, the premise intrigued me and the actors are obviously top notch. It wasn't hard to talk me into buying a ticket.
Julie and Julia plays on the similarities of two women who live two very different lives in two very different eras. The one thing, the overwhelming thing, the two women have in common is that they're both looking for something to do, something that's both fulfilling and which matters.
Julia Child (Meryl Streep), the famous (and infamous) chef, finds herself living in diplomatic splendor in France in 1949 when her husband (Stanley Tucci) is sent there on a government posting. Julie (Amy Adams) works for the government in New York City in 2002. She and her husband (Chris Messina) live above a pizzeria in Queens. Julia, who is bored out of her mind as a housewife, goes to cooking school and eventually writes a cookbook. Julie, who is a frustrated writer and unhappy cubicle denizen, decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook and blog about the experience.
But that overview barely scratches the surface of the story. Both women endure joy and pain, successes and setbacks. And with scenes that alternate and twine between the two disparate lives, we come to see the parallels that Julie does between her and Julia for ourselves.
This may be the only movie ever based simultaneously on two true stories. The real Julie Powell really did do that cooking and write that blog (and eventually a book). The real Julia Child did write an autobiography and a cookbook that serve as references for the other half of the film. Fortunately for us, both stories are interesting in and of themselves, and the combination is very, very good indeed.
The actors are all just terrific, most notably Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci who have a surprising on screen chemistry that makes the lifelong love affair between Julia and her husband Paul entirely believable. Amy Adams is also good, though her chemistry with her co-star isn't as overt and I believe takes a little something away from her scenes that might otherwise have added just the right amount of spice to them. While you might expect some times of real drama, there are also some moments of genuine comedy that make Julie & Julia a wonderfully rounded and entertaining movie experience.
It should be noted that, while the appearance of office cubicles and small apartments in New York several years ago wasn't much of a stretch for set decorators, Paris in the late 1940's was, and they stepped up brilliantly. I found myself wanting to visit Paris for myself, but not just any Paris. No, I want the Paris beloved by Julia Child and depicted so beautifully in this movie!
BOTTOM LINE: I was as much prepared to dislike Julie & Julia as to like it. What surprised me was just how very much I did like it. The friend I was with (another woman) really enjoyed it, too. I'd recommend it with no reservations whatsoever (though I'll caution you right now that this is probably not a movie either younger men or young children will enjoy).
FAMILY SUITABILITY: Julie & Julia is rated PG-13 for "brief strong language and some sensuality." That's probably just about right. Little ones wouldn't like it anyway.
POLITICAL NOTES: Paul Child served in Paris during the McCarthy era. McCarthy and his cohorts saw Communists behind every tree and in every office. Child and his wife felt some of the effects of that paranoia even across the Atlantic. Their experiences serve to remind us just how all encompassing and damaging such witch hunts can be. While it's important we all learn that lesson from history, we cannot afford to ignore possibilities, either. Neither Communist sympathizers then nor Jihad proponents now are everywhere, but they could be anywhere. As an aside, I must also point out here that our government is currently being overrun by those with genuine Communist and socialist bents, a threat from inside our borders that we would do well to treat with wariness at the very least. Without jumping to conclusions on any front, our freedom depends on being watchful, prudent, and sometimes proactive. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Julie and Julia plays on the similarities of two women who live two very different lives in two very different eras. The one thing, the overwhelming thing, the two women have in common is that they're both looking for something to do, something that's both fulfilling and which matters.
Julia Child (Meryl Streep), the famous (and infamous) chef, finds herself living in diplomatic splendor in France in 1949 when her husband (Stanley Tucci) is sent there on a government posting. Julie (Amy Adams) works for the government in New York City in 2002. She and her husband (Chris Messina) live above a pizzeria in Queens. Julia, who is bored out of her mind as a housewife, goes to cooking school and eventually writes a cookbook. Julie, who is a frustrated writer and unhappy cubicle denizen, decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook and blog about the experience.
But that overview barely scratches the surface of the story. Both women endure joy and pain, successes and setbacks. And with scenes that alternate and twine between the two disparate lives, we come to see the parallels that Julie does between her and Julia for ourselves.
This may be the only movie ever based simultaneously on two true stories. The real Julie Powell really did do that cooking and write that blog (and eventually a book). The real Julia Child did write an autobiography and a cookbook that serve as references for the other half of the film. Fortunately for us, both stories are interesting in and of themselves, and the combination is very, very good indeed.
The actors are all just terrific, most notably Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci who have a surprising on screen chemistry that makes the lifelong love affair between Julia and her husband Paul entirely believable. Amy Adams is also good, though her chemistry with her co-star isn't as overt and I believe takes a little something away from her scenes that might otherwise have added just the right amount of spice to them. While you might expect some times of real drama, there are also some moments of genuine comedy that make Julie & Julia a wonderfully rounded and entertaining movie experience.
It should be noted that, while the appearance of office cubicles and small apartments in New York several years ago wasn't much of a stretch for set decorators, Paris in the late 1940's was, and they stepped up brilliantly. I found myself wanting to visit Paris for myself, but not just any Paris. No, I want the Paris beloved by Julia Child and depicted so beautifully in this movie!
BOTTOM LINE: I was as much prepared to dislike Julie & Julia as to like it. What surprised me was just how very much I did like it. The friend I was with (another woman) really enjoyed it, too. I'd recommend it with no reservations whatsoever (though I'll caution you right now that this is probably not a movie either younger men or young children will enjoy).
FAMILY SUITABILITY: Julie & Julia is rated PG-13 for "brief strong language and some sensuality." That's probably just about right. Little ones wouldn't like it anyway.
POLITICAL NOTES: Paul Child served in Paris during the McCarthy era. McCarthy and his cohorts saw Communists behind every tree and in every office. Child and his wife felt some of the effects of that paranoia even across the Atlantic. Their experiences serve to remind us just how all encompassing and damaging such witch hunts can be. While it's important we all learn that lesson from history, we cannot afford to ignore possibilities, either. Neither Communist sympathizers then nor Jihad proponents now are everywhere, but they could be anywhere. As an aside, I must also point out here that our government is currently being overrun by those with genuine Communist and socialist bents, a threat from inside our borders that we would do well to treat with wariness at the very least. Without jumping to conclusions on any front, our freedom depends on being watchful, prudent, and sometimes proactive. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."