JULIE AND JULIA - REVIEW
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Director: Nora Ephron
Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci
Rating: ****1/2
Julia Child brought French Cuisine to Americans. Julie Powell brought Childs French Cuisine to the world via the blogsphere. The end result is a culmination of two true stories deliciously written for the screen by Nora Ephron.
Julie (Amy Adams) is a Government employee who spends her days in a cubicle in New York fielding enquiries about the city and its administration, who decides to brighten her existence by cooking her way though Julia Childs (Meryl Streep) Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and blogging about her experiences online. She sets herself a deadline of one year to cook all of the recipes and mounts herself the personal challenge of actually finishing something she starts. Openly proclaiming she is risking her marriage, her job, and the life of her cat to pursue this challenge, she meets with some challenges, like boning a duck and the personal hurdle of devouring her first egg, though her desire to walk the path of her culinary idol keeps her focussed on getting her just desserts.
Julia Child went to France with her husband (Stanley Tucci), and whilst he was working, she was at a loss to find something to occupy her time. She turned a love for eating French cuisine into a penchant for cooking it, and made a name for herself as a pillar of success in the foodie world.
Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle and Youve Got Mail) is a talented scribe, and her direction in this feature is also very competent. To pitch 19040-60s France and post-911 New York seamlessly together is a tough ask and Ephron manages the time shifting with relative ease.
The heart warming sentimental tone of her body of work is once again on show here as the viewer is made to feel the pleasure and pitfalls of both Julie and Julia's existence as they both go after their dreams.
The men in this movie are deliberately set in the background, though Tucci is consistently a dominant force in his movies, this is certainly no exception. Tucci plays the part of doting husband yet staunch businessmen very well and provides the perfect level-headed persona to Childs' flighty, outrageous character.
Streep has appeared Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) before and their chemistry is not lost as although it may seem an unusual pairing, the personality differences mentioned above somehow work on screen and make them a watchable and likably couple even if not 100% convincing.
Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) as a close friend of Julia is always a delight, and her few lines are well delivered and serve the movie well.
Although the cinematography in terms of shooting the many dishes on show here was done well, this reviewer did not come away with his mouth watering, wanting to reach out and try what was on screen. This is perhaps the only thing that could be said to the detriment of the film, although the cookbook (which is now in its 49th run) is certainly on the Christmas list.
Having read a story on Julie Powell and her thoughts on the movie, she said that what is portrayed on screen is not entirely accurate, and this is generally the case with anything that is born out of real life events. Most notably though is Powell and her real life experience with Child herself, differs greatly from how it is realised on screen. Knowing what really happened, perhaps that would have been good to see included. Such is the way of Hollywood however, you never let truth get in the way of a good story, and sometimes all you need to do to improve a great dish, is just add butter.
Bon Appetite!
Cinema Three
Projecting Projectionist - Film Reviews from a Small Town Theatre Employee
Cinema Rat
Rat Chat
I enjoy Reading your blogs as another projectionist who blogs on here is an online friend of mine. We seem to have differing views on sone things though largely we share a love of cinema, so it's nice to hear from someone else who shares a passion for film.
Glad you enjoyed the review, have you posted your own? Look forward to hearing your opinion on my future reviews.
Cheers -CR.
Cinema Three
Projecting Projectionist - Film Reviews from a Small Town Theatre Employee
I will definitely be reading your future blogs. I did review Julie and Julia a few weeks back. Heres the link if you're interested: Really Long Link
It didnt post on the reply but I'll have a look,
Cheers,
- CR.
PS. Just penciled in an advance screening of "Couples Retreat" for tomorrow night