Maggie Noodle Review - Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia traces the interconnected paths of two protagonists over two different timeline. The movie weaves seamlessly between the stories of two ladies and, on the face, it appears as if their lives revolved around food. But that is simplifying it too much. In reality, the movie is about two ladies struggling to find a meaning to their lives. In one of life's cruelest ironies, Julia Child was herself childless and eventually found fame through her cooking books and TV shows. Julie Powell, on the other hand, was stuck in a dead-end job and lacked motivation to seriously pursue writing, until she was inspired by Child's cookbooks which led to a successful blog, book, movie rights, and a life in the spotlight.

After establishing the backstory for the duo, the rest of the movie is about Julie wading her way through recipes and Child trying to get her cookbook published. The two lives never intersect though it seems, for a brief while, that it might. A close acquaintance of mine who grew up watching Julia Child's cooking shows said that Meryl Streep nailed the character's mannerisms so much so that there were times when she forgot she was watching an actress in the movie. I cannot think of any higher praise than that for one of the most proficient actresses of the last 30 years.

Amy Adams is cast as Julie Powell. Julie is not a pleasant person to be around at home during this enterprise, I'm sorry to say. She is mean to her husband and very self-absorbed in her mission, to the detriment of their relationship. However, Amy Adams is such a likeable actress, she manages to make us feel sympathetic about Julie's travails. Amy Adams first came to my attention in Charlie Wilson's War and she was the brightest spot in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. I am an unabashed admirer of her's and when she smiles, she lights up the screen. The last person that truly captivated me on-screen to this degree was Annette Benning and Amy Adams reminds me of her a lot. Reason enough to like Julie & Julia!

Even disregarding my obvious bias towards Amy Adams, Julie & Julia is a well-made, entertaining movie that hits the right notes in many places. See it if you have a couple of leisurely hours to kill.