Julie & Julia Movie Review

August 7th, fans of movies, cooking, blogging, and relationships were given a chance to experience a movie that appeals to fans of varying demographics and interest levels. Julie & Julia is a book into movie experience that presents the true story of Julie Powell (Amy Adams), an early innovator in internet blogging who embarked on a 365 day question during 2002-2003. Her mission was to create the 524 recipes in her idol, Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep), 1961 cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cuisine”.

When Julie’s husband Eric (Chris Messina) first suggests that she start a blog, Julie doesn’t understand the point. However, once she gets it, she quickly comes up with her plan to combine her passion for cooking with an opportunity to use internet blogging to chronicle her one year mission.

While blogging about her daily cooking and life experiences, Julie finds that she is attempting to do more than just cook and write. Her commitment to her Julie/Julia Project becomes so intense that its scope broadens into Julie challenging herself to ‘finally’ complete something that she starts.

Julie & Julia is a story that plays out in a back and forth format. One scene shows Julie, with scenes showing her blogging and daily cooking struggles, including her occasional meltdowns and the challenge her blog focus causes in her marriage. The next goes back in time where the early days of Julia Child learning to cook are presented. Over the movie, the parallel stories are extremely well told. The viewer gets to see Julie’s daily challenges, while also learning how Julia Child established herself as a cooking icon – first learning to cook, and then going through a several year process of getting a cookbook published and earning a TV show.

Amy Adams and Meryl Streep are both brilliant. Adams is one of the best ‘actresses’ in Hollywood right now. She is very versatile and gives natural emotion to her role. Streep is funny, clever, and unusually charming as the eccentric Julia Child. Stanley Tucci stars as Julia’s husband Paul.

Looking over the audience in the Julie & Julia theater is an experience all its own. You could argue that this film, as much as any, helps integrate generations. The audience was about half older women who were likely there to see the story of Julia Child. The other half was made up of younger couples, which most likely included men there to support young women drawn to the story of an internet blogger who made a name for herself using the popular internet blog format. This movie is entertaining and sure to please anyone that watches it. It is clever, fast-paced, well-presented, and historically and currently relevant.

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 123 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: August 7, 2009

Grade: A

Director: Nora Ephron
Starring: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Edmond

Movie Review by Neil of Movie Room Reviews

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