You more than likely have seen, or heard the buzz on TV about the new Nora Ephron bio-pic/comedy, Julie And Julia. Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci star in this new "two stories colliding" movie that parallels cooking legend Julia Child and Julie Powers, who is not a cooking legend. At least not yet.
It's the true story of Julie Powers, who is a 30 year-old underachiever, stuck in a dead-end job. She decides to start a blog in 2004, where she cooks her way through Julia Child's classic cook book. Then daily, she blogs about her successes and failures of her venture. 524 recipes and 365 days. The blog becomes quite an Internet success, but will it lead her to a better way of life?
In a story told in parallel, J&J flashes back to Julia Child's rise to stardom, with her story and travels. Basically how Julia Child became....Julia Child. Funny, but their stories are very similar, and does make for some interesting movie making. J&J is a concept movie, whose concept is actually pretty darn good.
Amy Adams is Julie. Adams just keeps getting better every time out. I think she is the next big thing. She is lovely, and engaging. She is easy to watch on screen, with a quiet understatedness that is very attractive. She is a perfect fit here, as our working class hero woman, who wants desperately to make something of herself after watching all her friends leave her behind on the career trail.
Meryl Streep is Julia. Whether you are a big Streep fan or not, one thing is certain here. After watching J&J, you totally want to meet Julia Child, and feel a little cheated that you only knew her through her TV show. If the portrayal is accurate, Julia Child was a wonderful, fun loving woman anyone would be lucky to know.
J&J does many things well. Well written, well acted, and a well conceived idea to begin with. I always think, that when you see a story you've never seen before in any way, it's good movie making. I am fairly certain, you don't know Julia Child's story, or Julie Powers either. I'm not sure the makers quite knew how to end this movie properly, but it doesn't sink the souffle. Nice soundtrack, well edited, for the most part solid.
Julie And Julia. No real problems here. Very well done. Bon appetite'!
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