Monday Review: Oh, Nora, you sentimental fool...

One of the movies on my list of films to see before I move from Williamsburg came out this past weekend. I'm not usually an opening day sort of moviegoer, but my mother, aunt, and cousin were interested in seeing it this past Friday. So, I taught my class, dashed to Mom's to shower and primp, and then we dashed off to AMC 24 to see Julie Julia.


I originally had believed that the movie was based on Julie Powell's book JULIE JULIA. Instead, this film is an adaptation of both Powell's book and Julia Child's MY LIFE IN FRANCE. It seems that the ever sentimental Nora Ephron wanted to show how alike Julia and Julie were in their endeavors by evenly mirroring their stories. On the one hand, you have Julia's marriage, move to France, enrollment and struggle in Le Cordon Bleu cooking academy, and the cookbook she wrote with two other women that would bring French cooking to America. On the other hand, you have Julie's husband, their move to Queens from Brooklyn, her soul-sucking job, and her decision to revive her life by keeping a blog in which she would write about cooking through all 536 of the recipes in Julia Child's first volume of MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING in one year.

I guess this attempt is very... sweet. I'm not sure how else to put it. It's a very Hallmark idea to bring the odd and distant peoples of the earth together in a common goal for peace and harmony. I only read Powell's memoir, so, I'm not sure if this is what I got out of the story. The movie stays true to the fact that when Julia Child got wind of Julie's project, she made some unflattering commentary. I'd like to think that Powell didn't think so much that they were separated at birth but that Julia was a beacon in her dark, NYC outer borough universe... Julia was the muse that inspired Julie to gain her eventual happiness...

...because the two women could not be more different. The only thing they have in common is that streak of "crazy" that led them to fame. Julia Child is stuffed with principles, acheivements, and butter... all of which she takes very seriously. Julie Powell is funny, crude, unorganized, and one of those people who rushes to make it by the skin of their teeth. I thought paralelling them was interesting, but also cheaply warm and fuzzy...

Especially when you look at the girl they hired to play the part of Julie Powell. Amy Adams? Seriously? Only in Nora Ephron's Meg Ryan infused style would one think to pick that particular actress to play this role. I would have sooner picked the girl they chose as Julie's friend than Amy Adams. She just didn't capture the fire I read in Julie Powell's voice. Adams' portrayal is a clumsy, self-centered, wide-eyed little girl... all she got down was the "crazy" bit. The real Julie Powell, to me, is feisty, hot-headed, bright, hilarious, and somewhat frightening (if you read the book and read about the state of her kitchen... Ooooh, scary...). I still managed to have fun watching the movie, but I was pretty disappointed with Amy Adams as well as the lack of details from her life (Powell's got some great, wacky friend stories, people for whom she obviously cares deeply, that I missed seeing come to life on screen).

You can probably imagine that it's Meryl Streep who steals the show. You might have despised the Julia Child in reality, but Streep infuses a life and passion into her that you have to admire. The woman had some guts! Yeah, she had the funny voice, she was freakishly tall, she didn't seem like the most amiable dinner guest, but Streep's trademark amazing acting skills pulled you into Julia's heart, made you walk around, and feel something. I can imagine that Julia Child could be a bit much at times and Streep did not shy away from that....she just made you appreciate that aspect of a person who has what it takes to make history.

I feel like I have some reading to do... Julia Child apparently had an interesting road to get to be the revered household cooking gddess that she is today. The movie mostly focused on the Julia Child side of life... and that was probably for the best...

...because it seems Ephron wants to make Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail for the rest of her career. She's not cut out for grit and honesty of Julie Powell. I undoubtedly liked this film better than any of Ephron's other movies, but you could see parts that refer too much to her old films... like the consistent voice-over of Julie's thoughts as she types on the computer. Just too You've Got Mail...

I have no grand hopes for Julie Julia's recognition in the future as a great film... but it was entertaining nonetheless...

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