Bon Appétite!
Julie Powell is almost 30 and finds herself in an unsure stage of her life and starts to wonder what she has to show for it. After thinking it over and being encouraged by her husband she decides on posting her very own blog and cook her was through Julia Child’s cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Intertwining with Juile’s story is Julia Child and how she got her start in the cooking profession (based on Julia’s book My Life in France. She is off to France and with her loving husband and her passion for food with nothing to do. After much searching she decides to take lessons in French cooking. Along the way she joins a cooking duo needing her help to enlightening the English speaking population on the art of French cooking. And so their stories begin as both Julie & Julia begin to slave over an oven and a life changing cook book neither of them is soon to forget.
Director Nora Ephrons adaptation of two intertwining lives was deliciously prepared, literally. Don’t watch this film on an empty stomach! It will definitely leave you with a hankering you wont be able to satisfy. Unless, you too decide to cook your way through Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking! The intertwining of stories was an excellent idea. They were a perfect pair or should I say two peas in a pod. I was delightful to the wonderful Meryl Streep play the role of Julia Child and do such a remarkable job. From the voice to the quirky actions she was spot on! Streep only 5’6″ looked quite interesting pulling off Julia’s 6’2″ and poise demeanor.
Amy Adams was super cute playing Julie, even if she did kind of bleat through the entire film, but hey, it worked out well. Her role was someone we all could relate to and therefore loved. Her story just wasn’t quite was epic as Julia Child’s so it isn’t fair to judge the characters equally.
The love story between Julia and her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) is to put it lightly, simply romantic. They joy they found in just being together was spellbinding. His constant encouragement to her throughout the film was immensely endearing. The love story between Julie (Amy Adams) and her husband (Chris Messina) was also sweet but not at all in the romantic way Julia and Paul’s was. They just seemed to be lacking the right chemistry to really make it all believable and heartfelt.
The two stories meshed very impressively. I didn’t feel like the two characters really had much in common aside from cooking, but the time spent on both stories was very fair. One didn’t really outshine the other, but I was left feeling slightly unsatisfied. There never seems to be any identifying closer or connection with the two characters in the end. I really would have enjoyed a closure to the film. At times it wasn’t entirely all its cooked up to be, but it was full of delight and was overall a very warm-hearted and charming film.
I must admit I went into the film knowing who Julia Child was, but not a whole lot about her person, but I definitely was a fan when I finished the film. Such a delicious film!! I’m thinking I need to give that chocolate cake a go!
I have absolutely no complaints on the picture what so ever. It was visually tasty film! The picture was so crisp and clear, I could almost imagine the food right on my table!
The sound was equally enchanting, with the sizzling and steaming of the food! The sounds were all quite fulfilling. The clanking kitchen and class scenes were wonderful!
Be warned!!! Eat before viewing!!!
Special Features
I really enjoyed the special features. They added a little something special to the feel of the movie, especially the feature on Julia’s Kitchen being moved to the Smithsonian. There just weren’t too many to choose from, but like I said what was there was very informative.
–Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia
-Commentary with Writer/Director Nora Ephron
Exclusive to Blu-ray
-Family and Friends Remembering Julia Child
-Julias Kitchen: Take a tour of Julia Childs kitchen
-Cooking Lessons: Featuring Julia child and other world renowned chefs including Jacques Pépin, Suzanne Goin and more
–movieIQ with Julia Childs original recipes. Collect and email your favorite Julia Childs recipes while watching the film.