Julie and Julia

Review written by Sandra Plazinic, lead image courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Julie and Julia :: A Movie Review

Presented by writer and director Nora Ephron this movie is a touching tale based on the true story of two women Julie Powell, a sad and painful cubical worker in New York City in today’s modern world and Julia Child, a lovely American housewife in 1950, living in Paris.

Both women, even if very different in character, have one thing in common: they discover meaning in their lives through cooking and find their place in the world writing about their experiences with food.

Meryl Streep plays a fearless Julia, who follows her husband, Stanley Tucci, to Paris on a work assignment and ends up at the “Cordon Bleu” cooking school where she discovers a whole new world.

She becomes so passionate about cooking that she decides to write a 734-page cookbook in English. This book “The Art of French Cooking” becomes a best seller in America and is the basis for the first ever aired cooking show called “The French Chef” in America in 1963.

Meryl Streep is wonderfully real and portraits this woman with so much heart that her cheery enthusiasm and all of her unaffected behavior stays with you way beyond the duration of the film.

It is no wonder that this very sweet lady with her unpatronising charms and warbly voice graced Americas TV for 10 years and made fine cuisine accessible in America.

She becomes sort of an idol for me through the corse of the film and makes you feel like everything is possible in life, and not only when it comes to food!

I also love the relationship between Tucci and Streep. They are so loving and supporting all through their journey in France and up to the publishing of the book, they truly light up the screen.

Amy Adams, as Julie, almost a whole decade later, equally follows her husband Eric, Chris Messina, from Brooklyn to Queens and dreams of changing the world. She decides to cook her way through Julia’s cookbook and starts a blog about it.The assignment seems deranged and impossible at first: 524 recepies in 365 days but as most things in life “where there is a will, there is a way” and Julie’s adventure doesn’t only turn into a new writing career but she also becomes a much happier person in the end.

Adams is very believable in her transformation as the government worker turned cook and writer. She has a great range of emotions and gels wonderfully on screen with the sensible Chris Messina, who plays her nurturing and supporting husband.

I also love the contrast of the times and the cities New York versus Paris, in which these two couples create their lives together. It is like traveling through time and living two lives at once.

Movie Pass + Scharffen Berger Chocolate Bar

To sum it all up: I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is beautifully written and shot with an excellent cast that keeps you not only interested in the characters but also makes you want to get into the kitchen and experiment with food. Oh, and did I mention the souvenir we were handed on our way out of the screening: a piece of Scharffen Berger dark chocolat with the title branded “Julie & Julia” in theaters released August 7th and the slogan “Anything is Possible”, so hurry on and go see!!!!

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Sandra Plazinic has graced the entertainment world as a professional ballet dancer, turned model and actress, and she is currently a freelance entertainment and performance review writer for various magazines and blogs.

Many thanks to Jaden of The Steamy Kitchen and Sony Pictures for offering the tickets to the private screening.

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8 Comments so far

  1. shernell on August 6, 2009 Thursday, 9:45 pm

    Are you serious this is an execelent blog post. Love it love it love it.

    Great

  2. Carolyn on August 8, 2009 Saturday, 3:14 am

    Ingrid this is a great review! Thank you for sharing. I am a fan of Julia Child and have her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and it is the original 1961 edition.

  3. earthmother on August 8, 2009 Saturday, 11:54 am

    Thanks Sandra and Ingrid! I’ve been so excited for this movie to hit the theaters.

    Stanley Tucci, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams! What a dish. Can’t wait.

  4. VeggieGirl on August 10, 2009 Monday, 11:48 am

    So glad that the movie is worthy!!

  5. Heather on August 10, 2009 Monday, 5:18 pm

    Thanks for the recommendation! Chocolate and a good movie sounds great right now!

  6. Jennifer on August 12, 2009 Wednesday, 12:22 pm

    I agree that the scenes about Julia Child were outstanding, but I felt the scenes about Julie Powell were silly and contrived. I was bored out of my mind everytime the movie switched to Julie. I read the book “Julie and Julia” and I felt that Julie’s character was not properly portrayed. In the book Julie is very crass and brash. In the movie, she is neurotic and spineless. If the movie were condensed to show only Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci – Oh what a movie that would be! Streep was inspiring bringing back the immense life of Child and her contagious love of food and all things French. That’s why Julia was so well loved around the world.

  7. Nicole on August 12, 2009 Wednesday, 8:59 pm

    How fun! I would have a hard time refraining from eating the chocolate:) Thanks for the review, I must go see it!

  8. Matt on August 14, 2009 Friday, 2:22 am

    The movie was great from start to finish. I just wish the ending was idfferent but that always happens in a movie. Lots of funny parts. Would go see again. Can’t wait to buy it

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