Julie & Julia Movie Review

After twisting my husband's arm and orchestrating a babysitter for the middle of the day (thanks Granny Deb!), I was finally able to see Julie & Julia yesterday afternoon. Can I just say how healthy having a jumbo popcorn, box of Rasinettes, and a large Coke are for lunch? And I complain about the size of my butt like I have nothing to do with it! Sheesh! Okay, so I digress...Julie & Julia wasn't bad, wasn't great, but it was good!

Just like the book, the film bounces back and forth between cubicle worker Julie Powell and the pre-famous Julia Child. The beginning of the film, I could tell (in my very unprofessional opinion) that the editing was very well-done and kept the pace of the film at an interesting level. I'm not sure what happened towards the middle, because parts of the script lagged, and I found myself wondering why certain aspects of the book were not included in many of these parts. There needed to be a hilarious account of Julie Powell's recipe mishap that contained bone marrow. Something needed to be put into the middle of the film to jazz it up a bit! The details of Julia's process of writing and publishing her cookbook were a bit much, and could have been cut and condensed for continuity purposes, but again, I'm paid to teach 8th graders Reading, not the big bucks to edit films.

Meryl Streep's performance as the larger-than-life Julia Child was amazing! I never knew what a dynamo of a woman Julia Child was, and Meryl had me cracking up just by watching her animated facial expressions! Julia Child's voice is her trademark, but Streep didn't overdo it like so many actors could have easily done! I would compare it to actors who have to perform a southern accent...either they over emphasize the twang, or they hit it head-on. Much like Julia's voice, you could totally over-do the pitchy quality, but Streep should win many awards this year for her perfect execution. Amy Adams also did a great job, but Chris Messina, who played Julie's husband, and Stanley Tucci, who was Child's spouse, were excellent counterparts to the lead roles. Great and hilarious husbands!

The film is a good one, and sparked my interest in Julia Child as a woman and mogul. I now want to read her memoir about her life in France (my grandparents also spent time in France during the fifties) and find her to be a very interesting woman. View a few clips from her cooking show below: