Julie & Julia
Director: Nora Ephron
Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Chris Messina, Jane Lynch and Stanley Tucci
DVD release: 8 October 2009
Rated: M
Streep and Adams cook up a storm
This genuine feel-good
film should be a regular crowd pleaser since it’s got everything.
Not only does it have Meryl Streep again doing an over-the-top performance
as in Mamma Mia! but also the cute Amy Adams, and lashings of
great French cuisine which may have you rushing, drooling out of the cinema.
It’s
pleasurable entertainment thanks to the cast and excellent script by Nora
Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle) who also directs.
Meryl Streep has something of Hyacinth Bucket - pronounced Bouquet - (Keeping Up Appearances) in her reading of the eccentric American cookery writer. In fact she does impersonate the real Julia Child remarkably well, although some may think without knowing she is doing a Mrs. Doubtfire. It’s been said Robin Williams’ creation of Mrs.Doubtfire was actually inspired by the celebrity chef.
Julie & Julia is based on two bios: the first
set in the 1940's tells the early story of Julia Child (America’s
answer to Margaret Fulton), the famous cookbook author and TV cooking
show host. Julia (Meryl Streep), finding life a tad dreary as the wife
of Paul (Stanley Tucci) a diplomat stationed in France, takes a course
in cooking at Le Cordon Bleu school to the dismay of the other male students.
Paul is later taken to task by the McCarthy committee for alleged Communist
sympathies. 
Julia
starts teaching cooking herself, and finally writes Mastering The Art
of French Cooking aimed at the American market. It’s a huge success.
The film cross cuts to the second story in Queens, New York seven years ago. Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a harassed government call centre worker handles phone calls from the relatives of victims of 9/11. Julie also decides to spice up her dreary life with cooking - in this case the whole 524 recipes in Julia Child’s now famous cookbook in just 365 days. Julie sets up a blog to chart her daily efforts at the oven, and this leads to a following of unexpected fans and determination to complete the project despite some dismal failures. Julie finds a strength of purpose clearly lacking in her life thanks to Julia, whom she never meets. The only distant connection between the two stories comes on Julia’s 90th birthday when we learn she clearly doesn't think much of Julie's literary skills.
Possibly Meryl Streep (Doubt), playing the formidable but lovable Julia Child with her own brand of gusto, tends to overshadow Amy Adam’s performance in a lower key. Streep seems to get better with every film. Where some actors are always themselves, Streep envelopes the character and lives in them. Her take on the real Julia Child’s TV appearance is magic. Streep and Stanley Tucci, who impeccably plays her husband, make a perfect married couple. Their scenes together are beautifully enacted - remember they were a great combination in The Devil Wears Prada. T he arrival of Julia’s loud big sister Dorothy (Jane Lynch) on the scene just adds a marvellous touch.
Amy Adams (Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) is a bubbly actress, but has a tougher role here, as she did with Streep in Doubt. Her character is having problems at work and in her cramped apartment in Queens. Julie’s high flying friends making millions on their mobiles put her down at lunch. But the success of her blog and her cooking challenge brings a real purpose to her life. Chris Messina (Vicki Cristina Barcelona) makes favourable impression as Julie’s affable husband.
The film is directed competently by Nora Ephron, who gives Streep the run of the kitchen and makes a droll point with the lavish French interiors contrasting the harsh look of the New York settings. Ephron enjoys making the most of the comic culinary mishaps. Production values are high and the cinematography suitably enticing in the food sequences.
Make yourself some cordon bleu popcorn to wacth this one.
John Bale