Julia Child, the famous American chef who specialized in French cuisine, was truly one of a kind in a world of stuffy foodies. Her high-pitched, incessantly cheerful voice made one wonder if she had been drinking or if this was status quo. Based on the book of the same name by Julie Powell, the film “Julie & Julia” follows Child (Meryl Streep, “Doubt”) and Powell from Queens (Amy Adams, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”) along their rocky entrance into the world of cuisine.
Although the storylines took place sixty years apart, they were surprisingly similar. Child, an awkward, American fish-out-of-water in Paris needed to take up a hobby to keep her active mind busy. “I can’t be like these French wives, they do nothing. I get the same pleasure out of shopping for groceries as these women get out of buying a new dress,” Streep said. When pondering a new life pursuit, Streep’s husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci, “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”), asked her what she loved to do. “I love to eat, and I’m so good at it too!” Streep responded. From that day on, the audience watches as Streep attempts a cookbook, cooking school and eventually her own TV spot. Through the whole process, she maintains a positive attitude and awful French to lighten the mood.
Meanwhile in Queens, former journalist Powell slaves away at an unfulfilling job in Manhattan. Needing a new purpose in life, she decides to cook her way through Child’s cookbook from cover to cover and write a blog about her journey. With over 500 recipes and a deadline of one year, Powell went through her fair share of groceries and took a toll on her marriage. However, the dynamic between Adams and her overly supportive husband was slightly nauseating and seemed inauthentic. On the other hand, the relationship between Paul and Julia was hilarious and believable thanks to Streep and Tucci’s winning chemistry.
Through the many failures and successes, Powell and Child use their love for good food as motivation to overcome any roadblocks. Being a loud, tall, crazy American in France made Child stick out like a sore thumb, but she managed to establish herself in the culinary world with her bubbling personality and her intense love for food. Powell stayed afloat by whipping up Child’s creations in her tiny New York apartment.
As Powell’s blog grew in popularity, she began to take the whole “becoming Julia Child” idea slightly too far. Adams appeared psychotic as she interviewed with a reporter from the New York Times regarding her new blog. “It is like she’s in the kitchen with me, we have conversations as I cook,” Adams said. She even took it so far as to dress up as Julia for her birthday party with her close friends. This amount of obsession was unnecessary and a bit annoying.
In contrast, Streep and Tucci’s performance blew the roof off of this movie and made up for any discrepancies in Adam’s performance. The hilarity of the nearly six foot American woman in France among French culinary professionals will engage an audience of any gender, age or culinary persuasion.
In the end, if the nearly full house on the opening night of “Julie & Julia” is any indication of the future success of this film, it is sure to hold its own in the box office rankings.
4 stars out of 5
