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Julie & Julia: A Review

Julie-JuliaEver since I heard about the movie Julie & Julia, I was dying to see it.  I had to wait a few weeks because our schedule was so packed, but finally, last Saturday night, I drug my friend Sarah to the movie theater with me to see it.

First of all, I absolutely love and adore Meryl Streep.  I think she’s one of the greatest actresses of our time.  Or, you know, EVER.  She is AMAZING, and she did not disappoint in this movie.

I hadn’t seen Amy Adams in anything before, but she is utterly adorable.  Since I didn’t read the book, I can’t say if she captured the character of Julie Powell or not, but she seemed believable to me.  I could completely relate to the blogger, the wannabe chef, and the challenges of cooking that much at that degree of proficiency for so long.  I can’t imagine.  I’m pretty sure I never could have done it.

Yeah, the melodrama of, “Oh, my readers are DEPENDING on me…” when things went wrong was a little bit annoying but otherwise I enjoyed following the stories of both women.

The story was engaging, the acting was superb, and I was left wanting more when it ended.  You really can’t ask for more than that in a movie.

When we were walking out of the theater, I was laughing to Sarah about how much I could relate to Julie Powell and her husband, especially now that I’m doing videos of my cooking.  And I added how badly I felt for Julie at the end when she got the call from the reporter saying that Julie Child had heard about her and wasn’t terribly impressed with her or her blog.

Then Sarah asked me who would be my Julia Child, and without hesitation I said, “Ina.”  I would gladly cook through every single one of Ina’s cookbooks, in fact I’ve got a pretty good head start on that already.  Don’t worry.  I’m not starting another blog.

All that to say, if you like cooking or blogging or good movies, go see Julie & Julia.

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20 Responses

  1. I’ve heard that movie was good. Alas, I most likely won’t get to see it until it’s out on video…

  2. I really liked the movie, but the book was hard for me to get into and I eventually gave up. I didn’t really get attached to the Julie character. I liked the movie Julie quite a bit better than the book Julie, she was more relate-able. And of course Julia was FANTASTIC in the movie. I could have watched a whole movie of just her.

  3. I really liked it too. And it made me want to cook a lot of french food. I haven’t tried yet, but I still want to.

    And you should really watch Enchanted with your daughter. Amy Adams is awesome.

  4. I went and saw this movie with a couple of girlfriends two weeks ago and I loved it…every single minute of it. And you know, I wouldn’t even really classify it as a chick flick! I need to take my hubs to see it. He loves to cook, and I think he’d love it, too. Oh, and Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep, yes? Most definitely, I think!

  5. Totally agree that Julie and Julia was fabulous. My hubby went with me and he loved it too. I don’t think there’s a movie Meryl Streep has been in that she didn’t totally rock.

    Did you see previews for “It’s Complicated”? On my must see list.

    And also agree about Ina. I could totally cook through one of her cookbooks too — and blog to tell about it … but I think … not.

    So glad to see others liked it as well.

  6. I was almost afraid to read this post because I have yet to see this movie & I am really wanting to see it.

    Julia Child has been one of my faves for the longest time…I mean I even watched her on TV as a child, and her cookbooks are my most used.
    When I heard Meryl Streep was portraying her, I knew I had to see the movie. Never read the book, but I do recall stumbling upon the blog a while back.

  7. I’ve heard it was great! I’ll have to check it out soon. In my free time. Not that I have any… but I do have a birthday soon, so maybe I can ask for some!

  8. I’ve been wanting to see this movie for awhile now. Mostly I am intrigued because I have thought about doing something like that for my blog. No, not COOKING. (God forbid!)

  9. I loved this movie!! I’ve read both books (and blogged about the movie/book comparison HERE)

    The blogging element was really downplayed in the movie, so if you want more (and don’t mind the fairly liberal use of the F word), you should read Julie Powell’s book.

  10. I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago and absolute LOVED it. I am actually in the process of making Beouf Bourguignon~it smells delightful!!! I too am a fan of Meryl Streep-loved her in Mamma Mia!

  11. I thought the movie was wonderful. I took my girls to see it and we all enjoyed it. The character of Julie is very toned down for the movie, which I was glad of because I could not have sat through constant swearing such as is on her Julie/Julia Project blog. She does address the “Julia not liking her” on her new blog which was interesting because I felt the movie sort of dropped it in there but didn’t really explain it.

  12. call me the odd ball – but I was a little bored with the movie – I liked what it was about, the acting was good, but just “something” was missing in it for me.
    Maybe because I saw it with my 13yo daughter and her friend, I was thinking the whole time “they must be bored and mad I drug them to this movie” – they thought it was “ok” as well.

    I also thought it ended rather abruptly – I thought there was no real climax in the movie and it just ended on the same note —–

    I’m weird about movies though, so don’t pay any attention to my opinion LOL I think I would have enjoyed it more renting and watching at home – than spending the $40 I spent for my daughter and I to see it.

  13. I read the book and really enjoyed it with the exception of some of her language and her hatred of Republicans. Other than that, it was great!

  14. Ilove Ina! I want a peaceful beautiful kitchen just like hers! I love Giada, too! I can’t wait to see the movie-am waiting to get through a move! Thanks for a review that still encourages me to go!

  15. I saw J/J 2 weeks ago and had an emotional response. I blogged about it because I am a technical communicator, and so were both of these women. Good movie. Very uplifting. 🙂 Wish these women had met though….

  16. Tidy Mom, I am with you. I loved the Julia/Paul Child parts of the movie and thought the locations and decor and costumes were perfection. But, I found the Julie sections trite and predictable. I couldn’t wait for the scenes to switch to Julia and Paul. And, watching interviews of the real Julie didn’t make me like her any more. You can understand why Julia Child was offended by not only the bad language Powell used in her blog but also in the manner she cooked all of the 500 plus recipes. Julia Child labored for nearly a decade testing, typing and submitting the recipes … while Julie crammed cooking into just a year, basically just to get it done so she could say she did. She trivialized the cookbook and didn’t really ‘master’ French cooking at all.

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