Writer and director Nora Ephron smoothly blends the remarkable, true stories of two women from a different era – both on a culinary voyage of discovery. In this way, she creates a comedy that proves that with the right combination of passion and obsession you can change your life and make your dreams come true!
Julie & Julia (2009) – Trailer
Overview of The Movie
Julie & Julia is the true story of the young writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) who is tired of her boring life and decides to prepare all the recipes from the cookbook of her great example Julia Child (Meryl Streep) in one year. Through a blog, she wants to introduce a new generation to French cookery. The passion for cooking soon turns into a passion for life. A delicious and tasty comedy about joy, obsession, and butter.
Brief Review
The problem with a film that tells parallel stories is that one story will dominate the other. That is exactly what is in Julie & Juliahappens. The part in France where Julia Child is followed is many times more interesting than what happens to Julie Powell in New York sixty years later. This has nothing to do with Amy Adams, who does everything to make something of her character, but everything with the character itself. Powell is portrayed as a hysterical, modern woman who gets a nervous breakdown when her boeuf bourguignon is burned, making it difficult for the viewer to sympathize with her. Julia Child looked like she needed the best dishwasher under $700 every time she makes a mess in her kitchen.
Perhaps even worse than this annoying character is the lack of significant tension in Julie & Julia. It seems as if Nora Ephron did not know how to connect both stories, so the film does not feel as a whole. However, both stories are not enough in themselves to hold your attention for a long time, mainly due to the lack of dramatic conflict. If the main problem in a movie is if a woman manages to cook a lobster, then something is really wrong.
Fortunately, Meryl Streep is still there to save the day. Even in one of the lesser films in her impressive career, she effortlessly escapes the malaise. She avoids the fall to imitate the eccentric (and very long) Julia Child or put it down as a caricature deftly and gives her own twist to the character, without forgetting Julia’s peculiarities. The best example of the Streep class can be found in the scene in which she is told that her sister is expecting. Married too old to have children, Julia skips between joy, jealousy, and sorrow, and finally seeks comfort in the arms of her husband. It is the only scene in the 123-minute film that strikes an emotional chord, and it is a shame that not a little more attention was paid to Julia Child’s life by letting the film revolve completely around her. Julie & Julia is a light-hearted film that has to lean far too much in the class of Meryl Streep.