The 2009 dramedy was written and directed by Nora Ephron. It was also her last film before she passed away. It’s based on two real stories. The first being Julia Child ( Meryl Streep ) learning French gastronomy in Paris. The other, Julie ( Amy Adams ) making a blog about cooking Child’s entire cookbook in a year.
Julia’s Story:
Julie & Julia acts almost like a 2 movies 1 kind of deal. Let’s start out with Julia Child; her husband, Paul ( Stanley Tucci ) works for the US governmont and is stationed in Cold War Paris. Having nothing to do, Julia takes on a cooking class. Despite being less experienced, she quickly becomes the best of her class.
Julia realises that there are no French cook books in English. So she decides to write one with the help of her friends. In the meantime, Paul is relocated to Germany, delaying everything. After a few years, everything falls apart. So she starts her own cooking show. Which you may have heard of.
That pretty much sums it up.
Julie’s Story:
Julie, the young call center answerer lives in a New York apartment with her husband Eric ( Chris Messina ). Having nothing to do with her life other than her love of cooking, and not being able to finish anything in her life, she decides to start a blog. Those two elements combined lead her to start a blog dedicated to cooking over 500 dishes in exactly one year.
Quickly after starting, the Internet falls in love with her. Gaining dozens of comments and even getting fan mail. Considering she has to make over ten dishes a week, it takes a toll on her personal life. Eric at one point even leaves her. Which lasts for about a week. Before she knows it, she’s already completed the entire cookbook. The dedication apparently making her a better person, despite the film not actually showing it. By the end of the film, her phone is jam packed with messages from producers, publishers, and journalists looking to make a story about her experience. The End.
CONCLUSSION:
Julie and Julia was an enjoyable film. Heavily carried by Streep’s performance. Adam’s, though also doing a good job, wasn’t quite as unique as Streep. Instead going for the typical milennial without a plan, but means all well at the same time kind of chick. Examples: Rachel McAdams in Morning Glory and basically every Anna Kendrick role, ever.
Streep being the incredibly talented chameleon she is, perfectly captured Child’s mannerisms and likelihood. Her voice was a tidbit off, but that’d just be nitpicking. – Great performance.
Overall, for what it was, I’d give this dramedy a 7.5/10.
-The Screenwriter