There’s a nice, easy flow to Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia that makes it a terrifically enjoyable recipe of comedy and sweetness. It isn’t earth-shattering stuff, but it never sets out to be. This is simply a film about being delighted in life, about being satisfied and happy with one’s ideas and one’s work, and about finding one’s place in an overwhelming world. It also happens to be about Julia Child and Julie Powell, a blogger who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s cookbook over the course of one year.
The movie reunites two stars of the excellent film Doubt: Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. The casting is a big part of what makes Julie & Julia float, as Streep’s Julia Child is simply something else. A bundle of energy, joy and other beautiful stuff, Streep packs it all into the character who told regular people that they could do fantastic things in the kitchen. And in playing one of those regular persons, Adams more than holds her own in a role that never puts her in the same room as Streep’s Child.
Julie & Julia is told in parallel stories, of course. The first follows Julia Child (Streep) as she sets out on her career in the kitchen. She’s delighting in the joys of France with her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) and soon discovers that she loves French food, too. The problem is that she can’t find a cookbook for it in English and would very much love to share her joy. She enrols in a fancy cooking school and eventually writes a cookbook (the famed Mastering the Art of French Cooking, of course).
Meanwhile, in modern day, Julie Powell (Adams) is at a similar crossroads in life. She has a job that drains her of every ounce of emotional energy she can muster and only finds escapism and joy in the kitchen. Powell decides, with the help of her supportive husband (Chris Messina), that she’ll take to the blogosphere and start a blog about working through Child’s cookbook over the course of a year. The mission drains her, but proves ultimately rewarding.
The movie hits its stride early and never really lets up on the joy and easiness. There isn’t too much drama involved, save for a walkout by Powell’s husband in frustration and a moment or two of deep sadness by Child over her inability to conceive, and things go quite smoothly throughout the picture. That’s not to say that Julie & Julia is simplistic, of course.
Keep in mind that this is a movie about women and it isn’t a romance. This is no film about pursuing men or about snagging some sort of material gain or anything of the sort. It is a movie about discovering the joy of being able to do something. Both women are happily married and there is no origin story of said relationships. There is only the sound of a slab of butter hitting a sizzling pan; there is only the beautiful noise of Julia Child revelling in a dish well done.
One of the really great pieces of work in the film is the relationship between Tucci’s Paul and Streep’s Julia. It’s beautiful stuff, working off of a premise of support and love without bumps in the road. They are in love, ultimately, and it is a marvellous thing in that is allows Julia to do what her heart desires without question. He believes in her automatically and without regret or remorse.
I don’t need to tell you that Streep is fantastic and that she ventures far beyond mere impersonation. It’s great stuff, funny and charming and heart-warming all at once. Adams is good, too, but she isn’t given as much to do and certainly isn’t tasked with the more challenging storyline. In the end, though, it’s just great fun to see both of these tremendous actresses working such a delightful tale.
8.6/10
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