Julie & Julia

[+ g56whiz]

My prior comments on Public Enemy taint my status as a movie critique but I liked Julie & Julia. It is NOT a great movie but is a very pleasant way to pass a few hours imbibing in the lives of four interesting people - especially at the early show at $6.00 a ticket. I wondered how they would dramatically deal with the undramatic situation of two (hetro) couples who remain in love though out and grow very little as the movie progresses. They relied on charm without any real attempt be anything but charming. Having grown up with the Julia Child's series on PBS, I went expecting to critique Meryl Streep's Julia Child impersonation. But there were times when I actually bridged the gap and forgot I was watching an actor. Stanley Tucci is good as always as the bit fey but very loving (but somewhat short) Paul Childs. Amy Adams is appropriately earnest and I'm in lust with the eyes and lips of Chris Messina.

 

But now I have to confess my prejudices. I was a US GI in France several years after those portrayed, and I was stationed just outside Paris. I learned to love French food there. I later went to the same college I heard Julie mention. When I graduated and moved to New York, I bought both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking from the Book-Of-The-Month-Club and tried to duplicate the dishes I loved in France. On my meager starting salary, couldn't afford La Cote Basque or the other old school French restaurants in New York - now alas all departed. Like Julie and Eric, I put on weight in the process - a lot of weight. Like Julia, I was amazed at how straight-forward (even in their complexity) and accurate the recipes were and consistent each time I made them. And I was fascinated by the intellect that bridged the gap from French sensibilities to our own. Later I learned that a late family member while a student at BU's school of communication had been a cameraman at the for Julia Childs on first several shows which were done in the test kitchen of the local electric company (not sure whether Cambridge or Boston).

 

So I went to Julie & Julia with all these expectations and the opportunities they provided to be disappointed. But I wasn't: I enjoyed it very much. It's not a great movie, but it's surely worth your time and attention if you're interested in food, Julia Child or how she contributed to the change in our popular culture. Bon Appetit!!!

[+ glutes]

I was also a product of watching Julia Child on PBS, she was most entertaining. Didn't realize she was a part-product herself of Northern California.

sfgate.com reviewer Mick LaSalle gave this movie a very good review, I will see it.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/07/MVF4194BV6.DTL

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inmarin/detail?entry_id=45085

[JT Brooklyn]

Apparently from the Reviews the Film should have just been Named "JULIA"!

 

The "JULIE" Character is really very uninteresting. Of course Madame Streep will be the Big Draw to this one as always!

[dcguy20]

I attempted to read the book but stopped half way through as Julie Powell was whiny, annoying and extremely irritating.

[Bart]

Then go just for celebration of the originator of cooking shows on television and a fabulous performance by Meryl Streep.

When I first saw the ads of the film I had begun talking to my mother 6 weeks ago that this would be a great movie for us all to go to together, my mother 75 and my sister openned a cake shop that specializes in truffles some 10 years ago. For mom when she first saw Julia on TV on PBS we all had to watch, especially having wine while cooking. This dream was crushed just a couple of weeks ago when my mom passed away, but I still plan on going to see the movie knowing my mom would have loved it. I am sure I will be shedding a few tears during the film, but my mom like Julia always had a zest for life that showed through cooking.

[Guest greatness]

I'm sorry to hear your loss

 

It is always sad to lose someone so close. I hope you enjoy the movie.

 

Then go just for celebration of the originator of cooking shows on television and a fabulous performance by Meryl Streep.

When I first saw the ads of the film I had begun talking to my mother 6 weeks ago that this would be a great movie for us all to go to together, my mother 75 and my sister openned a cake shop that specializes in truffles some 10 years ago. For mom when she first saw Julia on TV on PBS we all had to watch, especially having wine while cooking. This dream was crushed just a couple of weeks ago when my mom passed away, but I still plan on going to see the movie knowing my mom would have loved it. I am sure I will be shedding a few tears during the film, but my mom like Julia always had a zest for life that showed through cooking.

[Racketjock]

Bart, my sympathies on your loss and my hopes the movie serves as a kind reflection of your mom's memory.

 

I attended Cordon Bleu in Paris, albeit quite a bit later than Julia Child. Just finished reading her semi-autobiography, My Life in France. She was a tenacious woman with great determination and zest for life, lived well and shared among friend, great food, and good wine. It is interesting to read how much she was disliked and railroaded during her tenure with the school compared to later years when they so readily adopted her as part of their legacy. Looking forward to seeing the film this evening.

 

Bon Appetit!

[AdamSmith]

It is interesting to read how much she was disliked and railroaded during her tenure with the school compared to later years when they so readily adopted her as part of their legacy.

 

Agree in spades. Fascinating to read, in Julia's book, how much the French culinary dons (donnes?) detested her at first, and how she persevered regardless.

 

I knew her, not intimately but also not at great distance, as many did during her last 2 decades in Cambridge. She did not at all stand on ceremony, at dinner parties much more interested in what you did than in singing her own songs. A fascinating person, both before and after one managed to extract her own stories from her.

 

Barely knew her, but miss her tremendously.