Last week I attended a screening of Julie & Julia at the Angelika theater with two friends. A bonus treat after the film was a Q&A with the real Julie. I have to be candid my foodie readers...I only liked half of the movie. Which half? Naturally, the Julia Childs half played by the incredible Meryl Streep. Don't get me wrong, I like Amy Adams but I just couldn't get into her story. Her character bothered me and her babyness was annoying. Julia's story on the other hand was fascinating and not only made me hungry for her Beef Bourguignon, but also made me proud of her for being such a classy woman. The real Julie was not at all what I expected. I will leave it at that my dear readers.
Bottom Line: Go see the movie as Meryl Streep's performance is Oscar worthy. Skip the book. Trust me.
Though I did not see the movie- I totally agree with Kjerstin about skipping the book. I have no idea how it was a bestseller.
ReplyDeleteThe premise of the book was how Julie Powell felt that her life was lacking and how she looked at Julia Child's life as inspiration because JC found herself in Paris after the war with her husband and though it looked like she had an enviable life she was not happy. So with her husband's encouragement she thought about what made her happy (food-french food in particular) and pursued it.
Julie Powell does not share any moments of self discovery or even any clear thoughts about why she felt her life was lacking. She does not share why she felt cooking was the thing that could help or really what she learned about herself from the whole experience. It is really just a list of some mildly amusing stories about her making some crazy cow organ dishes.