Breaking news: Nora Ephron redeems herself! You heard it here first. After thoroughly butchering Bewitched, we bitched. Yet in spite of the treasonous act of tarnishing the childhood memories of a million gay men, the director is back.
Just don’t screw it up again, Ephie!
By combining Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France with Julie Powell’s blog-turned-book Julie & Julia, Ephron has gone all Rodriguez-Tarantino on us and given us a delightful double-feature, only this time they’re rolled into one film.
One story follows Julia (Meryl Streep) through the late 1940s through the early1960s. The other focuses on unfulfilled Queens’ housewife Julie circa 2002 (Amy Adams), who decides to make every recipe in Julia Child’s famous cookbook over the course of a single year. Julie’s trials and tribulations are entertaining and inspiring for anyone dreaming of accidental success, but her saga’s nothing compared to the journey of our dear Mrs. Child.
No surprise here, but Streep embodies Julia like no other actress could. Her spot-on accent and mannerisms are joyous to watch and it appears that Streep is having the time of her life portraying the larger-than-life cooking school rebel/cookbook author. Despite a rather privileged existence with her diplomat husband (Stanley Tucci), she’s still quite the underdog in France and through perseverance she changes the world: one stick of butter at a time.
A big highlight for us is LOL-lesbian Jane Lynch as Julia’s awkward sister. She’s a scene-stealer in every production she’s ever in, even up against the likes of Mighty Meryl.
The ending feels rather abrupt and leaves us wanting to delve further into Child’s career and life, though Julie’s story has a satisfying conclusion. But desiring more of a movie is like wanting a second helping of Beef Bourguignon. It means the recipe was just right.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, and Jane Lynch
Written and Directed by: Nora Ephron
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and scenes of Julia Child sensuality (ewww)
Running Time: 123 minutes
http://www.julieandjulia.com
