Stubs - Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia (2009) Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond. Directed by Nora Ephron. Screenplay by Nora Ephron. Based on My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme, and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, which was based on her blog The Julie/Julia Project. Produced by Nora Ephron, Laurence Mark, Eric Steel, Amy Robinson. Run time: 123 minutes. Color. USA. Biographical, Drama, Comedy.

For someone who has been dead for nearly 18 years, Julia Child is hot. Not only is there a successful series about her TV Series, Julia on HBO Max, but recently CNN ran a special about her, also called Julia, in May of last year. No better time to rewatch Julie & Julia, Nora Ephron’s final film and the first film to be based on a blog, though one step removed.

Julia Child is best known for her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her long-running public television series, The French Chef (1963–1966; 1970–1973). Not only did she change cooking in America, but she also was a larger-than-life personality. She got into cooking because she loved eating and loved eating French food. When she couldn’t find a French cookbook in English, she took classes at the Cordon Bleu. A chance meeting with Simone Beck, who was writing a French cookbook for Americans with her friend Louisette Bertholle, lead to Child’s involvement with the project.

Julie Powell was a low-level government bureaucrat working in New York and would-be writer who liked to cook, but lacked purpose. At her husband’s suggestion, she started a blog and decided to write about learning to cook by doing all 524 recipes in Child’s cookbook in one year’s time. Her blog got legs, which lead to a profile in The New York Times, which led to the book and to the movie.

Paul (Stanley Tucci) and Julia Child (Meryl Streep) arrive in France.

Julie & Julia tells both women’s stories, Julia’s in a series of flashbacks, and Julie’s in 2002. Both stories have their merits, showing the ups and downs of the parallel stories. Julie’s, in some ways, is more relatable to a modern audience as her cooking and blogging are more of a side gig. We see the wear and tear on her relationship with her husband Eric (Chris Messina), while Julia and Paul’s (Stanley Tucci) seems more rock solid. The only down in their story is Paul’s grilling by McCarthyites at the State Department, which he apparently survives, and being assigned out of Paris, though they do seem to land on their feet. Julie’s and Eric’s separation only lasts a day or so.

Julie (Amy Adams) and Eric Powell (Chris Messina) in Queens, NY.

Both women’s lives are driven by food. Julia’s apparently trying to expose American homemakers to the joys of French cooking while Julie seems to be slipstreaming on Julia’s work. There’s nothing wrong in that nor is there anything wrong with the notoriety she earns from doing it. That all said, of the two stories, Julia’s is the more interesting and more engrossing of the two. Some of it has to do with the locales (Europe vs. a flat over a pizza joint in Queens) and nostalgia, but Julia Child is a more intriguing character, one that seems perfect for Meryl Streep.

Meryl Streep as Julia Child.

I’m not always a fan of everything she does but in this case, Streep does seem to lose herself in the role. Her performance did earn her a nomination for Best Actress from the Academy, back when that meant something. She seems to inhabit what we think Julia Child was like, affable, curious, fun-loving, and hardworking. I’m not sure if it’s more of a challenge to play a known person or easier when their mannerisms are well-known and provide a guide for the performance. No matter, Streep gives us the Julia we expect and adore.

Amy Adams as Julie Powell.

That is not to say Amy Adams is not good as Julie, but we wouldn’t be the wiser if she played her as someone struggling to find themselves in this modern world or as the “bitch” she refers to herself as being when drinking with her friend Sarah (Mary Lynn Rajskub). It’s hard to say that she hits the head of the nail with her performance since Julie Powell is an unknown quantity to most. That said, as a person looking to define themselves and become what they want to become in life, Adams does give a likable performance. Julie’s affection for Julia only seems to drive her and give her purpose, which is not a bad thing.

Stanley Tucci as Paul is sort of one-note here. A fine actor, and a lover of food (his film Big Night (1996) and his CNN culinary travel series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy as examples), Tucci seems to be very much in his element. Having worked prior with Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, there is a familiarity with each other that seems to translate to the screen. Paul is shown as always supportive of Julia even if he’s not always sure what she wants to do. It is someone like him that a person like Julia Child needed. Without him, we probably would not have had The French Chef, as she would have probably returned to Pasadena and married a Republican.

Chris Messina’s Eric is a more of a modern man trying to be supportive but also needing support that isn’t always there. His wife’s obsession with Julia Child would get to be grating at some point, as she becomes the third person in their marriage. Eric comes off as more three-dimensional than Paul, more relatable as marriages are not always butter and chocolate.

Nora Ephron on the set of Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep.

Julie & Julia marks the final film from Nora Ephron. An actress turned writer, producer and director, Ephron had a hand in such films as Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and Michael (1996). In her last film, Ephron tried to knit two lives, and two books, into a single story. She provides us with a range of emotions and locations, drawing parallels and comparisons between the two women and their lives.

Overall the film is quite enjoyable, even on a second or third viewing. The characters are well defined, expectations are met and you can never have enough butter. While the Julia Child side of the story may be more interesting there is really nothing to fault in the film and unless you're intolerant of milk products or good films, you should enjoy Julie & Julia.