...and now young lobster...you WILL die...
PG-13
Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina
Julie: What do you think it means if you don’t like your friends?
Sarah: It’s completely normal.
Eric: Men like their friends…
Sarah: We’re not talking about men! Who’s talking about men??
Julie (Adams) decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s first cook book within 1 year. Plus, she’s going to blog all about it. Meanwhile, we see Julia Child as she first learns to cook in Paris, and then as she struggles to get her first book published.
Let me start by saying that I’m not that into food or cooking. If something takes more than 15 to 20 minutes to prepare, it’s usual not worth it, that’s what I say. I thought that attitude might hinder my enjoyment of a movie all about cooking and food, but I was wrong. Instead, I found it all to be quite enjoyable.
It helps that I’m an Amy Adams fan and that Meryl Streep is charming even when she’s using a voice that would start grating on my nerves around the midway point. Plus, even though the film has that Nora Ephron sense of non-reality throughout it, there’s still a sense of believability to everything. It never gets too Hollywood. You’re expecting them to throw in a finale where Julie gets rich, moves into a mansion, and becomes best friends with Julia, but that didn’t happen in the real life story, which thankfully means it doesn’t happen here.
The only real problem I’ll point out, besides Julia’s voice, is that in the middle there are a few scenes that seem extraneous and tend to slow the movie down. It’s over 2 hours long, and I think a few of those scenes, like the sister’s wedding, could have been eliminated without taking anything away from the movie. This probably contributed to me enjoying Julie’s story line more. Although, I’m sure the fact that she’s setting up a blog, wondering if anybody will ever read it, and then rejoicing over her first comment had something to do with it too. I could identify with some of those feelings.
A funny script, entertaining performances, and nice cinematography. These are the key ingredients necessary to cook up a fine movie. And with that, I’m sure I’ve become the 500th reviewer to make such a food related joke about this movie. And for that…I am sincerely sorry.
Bon appetit! (Really, I’m sorry, I mean it.)
Apparently it’s hard to bone a duck. (That’s what she said!) (Huh?)
10 – 1.6 for a few lulls/extraneous scenes in the middle section of the movie – .4 for Julia’s voice wearing on my nerves = 8.0
The Robot Who Likes Pretty Things 