Julie and Julia (2009)

What makes this movie so good is Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Child.

This film is made up of two stories. The story of Julia Child is her time spent in post-war Paris with her diplomat husband (Stanley Tucci)with whom a deep, mutual love is evident. Julia is not your usual woman of the time, she got married late, is a virtual giant (compared to the French and her husband) and is childless although not by choice. She is looking for something to take up her time and tries hat making and Bridge before stumbling into cooking. She attends the Cordon Bleu and the rest is history. She always looks like she is having a great time even in tense moments and when her equally tall sister arrives for a visit, hilarity ensues. The story of Julie Powell doesn't have nearly the spice that Julia's does. Julie is a clerical worker that seems to have been passed by by her more successful friends. She feels that she needs to do something, so she decides that she is going to cook all 524 recipes from a cookbook that Julia co-wrote called "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days and blog about it. She is encouraged by her supportive husband Eric(Chris Messina)in completing her task.

The director, Nora Ephron, moves between the present as Julie prepares her meals, and the past with Julia's time in Paris. The screen time spent with Julia is much more entertaining. Other than a few cooking mishaps including how to kill a lobster, I found that the Julie part of the story dragged on a bit.

This is not the first time that Streep and Adams have worked together. They recently starred together in a movie called Doubt in which they both play nuns in a more serious film. It might also be interesting to read the book in which Julie and Julia was based. Written by the real Julie Powell, it is called "Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen". I am going to try to read it as I think that the kitchen mishaps will be much more fun in the book.

This movie was very entertaining, I would buy it. I give it THREE AND THREE QUARTER STARS.

PG-13