September 4, 2009

I don't see a lot of movies at the movie theater and most of the time, I don't even see them when they first come out on DVD. I'll usually end up seeing a movie a couple of years after it was first released. But, I've wanted to see Julie and Julia ever since I first heard about it, so one of my good friends and I finally managed to squeeze in a night last week for the two of us to go see the movie.

There is no doubt that Meryl Streep is absolutely amazing as Julia Child, Stanley Tucci was wonderful as her husband, Paul Child, and together they were brilliant. Streep doesn't just play Julia Child, you actually begin to believe that she is Julia Child!

The movie has great moments that will make you burst out into laughter and moments that will instantly bring tears to your eyes. The movie really manages to portray how much in love Julia and Paul were with each other.

I love when Julia says to Paul, “I need something to doooooo.” After trying her hand at hat making and learning to play bridge, Julia decides that eating and cooking are her true passions and she finally decides to enroll in the infamous Cordon Bleu School. There are some great scenes during that period when she's in the cooking school with all the French men.

Meryl Streep as Julia Child

I've read quite a few reviews that say Amy Adams wasn't the right choice for the part of Julie. Of course, she didn't blow me away like Meryl Streep did, but I thought she did a great job at portraying Powell as the slightly neurotic cubicle worker and aspiring writer. There are some touching moments between her and her husband and I loved the way they decided to start the Julie/Julia Project blog. I still want to get a copy of Julie & Julia so I can read all her posts about her experiences in cooking the 524 recipes in 365 days.

I really enjoyed most of the movie but, I have to say that I was a teensy bit disappointed at the end. There seemed to be some huge gaps in time later in the movie as they were flipping back and forth between the two story lines. All of the sudden, Julie only has one recipe left to make and Julia mentions that she has been working on her book for eight years. It just ended too abruptly for me. As the credits rolled, my friend and I just looked at each other and said “it's over?”

I do have a new-found respect for Julie Child. I had no idea that the book was eight years in the making and you could see that it was such a labor of love for her. Not that I will ever bone a duck or make Beef Bourguignon, but I am going to buy a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

One of my other good friends had something come up the night we went to the movie so she couldn't join us. I'll admit, if she wants me to go see it with her, I'll go see it again. It still gets a ‘thumbs up' even if I was a little disappointed.

~LilSis