Julie & Julia (2009)

Directed by Nora Ephron

So of course a 21 year old male college student starts a film blog and the first review is of a Nora Ephron movie. But considering a blogging storyline makes up half the film I feel I should be able to get away with starting out with a chick flick.

And as it turns out Julie & Julia is actually a tremendous amount of fun. It is easily Ephron's best film since "Sleepless in Seattle" and possibly her best work, period, since the screenplay for "When Harry Met Sally...".

Julie & Julia is about the lives of two women. One is the most famous chef of the 20th century, Julia Child, played perfectly by Meryl Streep, while the other is Julie Powell (Amy Adams), who is not the most famous anything of the 21st century. The film begins with the story of Child as she moves to Paris in 1948 after her diplomat husband, Paul (the wonderful Stanley Tucci), is stationed there by the State Department. Child instantly falls in love with everything about Paris--especially the food--but has trouble finding something to do with her time. She takes a hat-making class but is quickly bored by that before Paul finally suggests she takes a cooking class. She initially signs up for a beginner's class, but wants something more advanced--after all "I already know how to boil an egg." The registrar at Le Cordon Bleu, however, is the only person who has ever taken a dislike to Julia Child and initially refuses her request to become the only woman in the professional course, but eventually Child talks her way into it and quickly becomes the best student in the class.

Fast-forward to 2002 and Julie Powell is moving with her husband (Chris Messina) to Queens, and Julie instantly despises her new home. About the only thing she despises more than Queens is her job, answering the phones for a government agency attempting to deal with the aftermath of 9/11. The agony of this job is accentuated by the success her old college friends have enjoyed while she has failed in her attempts to publish a novel and become a writer. When she hears that one of her friends has started a vapid, but successful, blog Julie decides to start her own blog, and with her husband's support decides that it will be about her attempt to cook her away through all 524 of the recipes in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year.

And off we go as Julia becomes a master French chef and is enlisted by two friends attempting to write a French cookbook for American women and Julie cooks her way through the cookbook as her blog picks up readers and comments. Ephron does well enough in giving both of the stories their due and the transitions between the stories are relatively seamless, but the film's fundamental weakness resides in the fact that one of these women is far more fascinating than the other. Julia Child is easily one of the most fascinating personalities of the 20th century. Everyone knows the distinctive voice and Streep, the master of accents herself, not only gets the voice down perfectly but also fully embodies the joy and bubbly personality that always came through the television screen. There is no doubt in watching Streep in this film that we are in fact getting a previously unimaginable glimpse at the pre-fame Child, and as Julia has the time of her life cooking in Paris Streep is plainly also having the time of her life playing the boisterous legend.

It is unlikely that any character could manage to hold their own in a competing storyline with Streep as Julia Child, but poor Amy Adams doesn't have a chance with Julie Powell. This is not to say that Adams does a poor job in the film--she's quite good--but it is not a terribly significant departure from her most recent roles, although it is true that Powell has a mean streak not present in most Adams roles. However, the foul-mouthed Powell of reality is not present in Ephron's PG-13 script (in fact, the one and only f-bomb allowed under the MPAA's rules for PG-13 films is uttered by Tucci) and although Ephron's Powell is plainly a narcissist and not a particularly nice person there is still a bit of a disconnect watching Adams call herself a bitch when Julie has a moment of self-reflection.

But this film is a must-see simply for Streep's tour-de-force. Her half of the storyline is simply hilarious and the chemistry she shares with "The Devil Wears Prada" co-star Tucci is impeccable. A record 16th Oscar nomination is surely in the cards for Streep, and it is possible that this is finally the role that will give her the ever elusive third Oscar. There are several great supporting performances in Julie & Julia as well: Tucci of course, and Chris Messina is fantastic as Powell's long-suffering and impossibly supportive husband, Eric. Kudos also go to Jane Lynch as Julia's sister Dorothy in a brilliant cameo, and "24" fans should also get a kick out of Mary Lynn Rajskub's appearance in the Powell storyline. Also noteworthy is the brilliant use of the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" as a musical cue in the best scene of the Powell half.

All in all, Julie & Julia is a great film featuring what has to be one of the best performances of the year. Don't be afraid of being caught at a Nora Ephron movie, this is highly recommended no matter your age or gender. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.