Movie Monday Nov. 28: Julie & Julia

After a food centric holiday like Thanksgiving, I decided to pick a food centric movie, Julie & Julia. This is genuinely one of my favorite foodie movies and one of my favorite Meryl Streep performances. It’s two hours of delicious food, feel good moments, and stellar acting.

**Warning, mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched the movie yet, what are you doing?**

Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is an average 29 year old woman in a dead end temp job in post 9/11 New York. Julia Child (Meryl Streep) is an American expat in post WWII Paris with nothing to do. Both women, separated by five decades, find fulfillment through food. Julie, an aspiring writer, decides to blog as she cooks her way through Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia embarks on a cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu that changes what home cooking means. She soon completes the course, after some roadblocks, and starts to teach other American women in Paris. Along with friends Simone Beck (Linda Emond) and Louisette Bertholle (Helen Carey), Julia writes a French cookbook while dealing with political issues with her husband Paul’s (Stanley Tucci) government job. Julie, on the other hand, initially struggles with cooking and blogging. She soon hits her stride and conquers food hang ups and difficult recipes. Her blog becomes a hit, but her marriage starts to suffer. In the end both Julie and Julia find success and discover what it means to love food and love life.

These two stories are masterfully blended by the late great Nora Ephron. She combines Julie Powell’s book based on her blog with Julia Child biographies and letters to create a coherent plot. The movie doesn’t shy away from hardships or the fact that Julia Child disapproved of Julie’s blog. It feels at the same time real and romanticized. 1950s Paris is lush and gorgeous, full of sights and sounds. In contrast, the start of the McCarthy era is hinted at until Paul’s questioning, after which Julia’s idealized world changes. For Julie it’s the opposite. Early 2000s New York is harsh and still reeling from 9/11. The magic of cooking in her tiny Queens apartment is a respite from a drab world. Both stories are complementary and balance each other out. 

The food in Julie & Julia looks fantastic and always makes me hungry. It’s not just the look either. How the characters react to eating, the love, the community, makes the food all the better. Jane Lynch’s cameo as Dorothy Cousins, Julia’s sister, is a fantastic example. In one of her first scenes, Dorothy is introduced to French food at a bistro with Julia and Paul. We only get a quick look at the food they’re eating, but Dorothy’s pure delight at eating simple cheese and bread makes us want to take a bite. And Julia’s description of a beurre blanc sauce makes me want to dip everything in it. The cinematography also highlights just how delicious the food looks. The montages, the gorgeous and overflowing tables at dinner parties, even the simplest moments are there to show how important good food is. 

The performances in the film I think are some career highlights for both Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. They embody their characters and have such great chemistry. Maybe it’s because they’d worked together before, but both actors look effortless playing such specific people. Meryl especially takes on Julia’s persona from voice down to the tiniest gestures. Amy Adams is fantastic as well. Julie is unlikeable at times, but the character growth both in cooking skills and in her marriage are done really well. Even the smaller side characters are cast exceptionally. The Cobb salad lunch ladies, the cooking school students and teachers, everyone is immersed in their worlds.

As someone who loves this movie and cooking, I’ve debated cooking my way through the cookbook. Though not in one year and probably not in my current kitchen. Julie & Julia inspires me to think that I can do it. Someday.

One moment that makes me laugh: 

The butter montage. It’s funny and a bit over the top, but it is true. Restaurant food is better because of all the butter. Like they said in the film, if it tastes good it probably has butter.

One moment that made me believe in love:

This movie isn’t just about food, but about love. There are so many touching moments throughout the film, but as ever I like the small, subtle ones best. Towards the beginning, when Julia is still deciding what to do in Paris, she and Paul pass a woman walking a baby carriage. There is a moment of sadness as we realize that the Childs don’t have children of their own. This is mirrored again when they find out Dorothy is pregnant. The love shown in this sad and quiet moments portrays their relationship as supportive and filled with kindness and tenderness. And we are shown throughout the film that Julia and Paul’s bond is deep and everlasting.

I’d give Julie & Julia 8.5 butter sticks out of 10.