JULIE & JULIA

Six of Seven Cows

Wow, did I almost blow it: Given my choice of two new movies this week that I knew next to nothing about, Julie & Julia and the conspicuously-unpromising G.I. Joe, I very nearly missed a jewel. With nothing but a poster to go by, I assumed Julie & Julia to be an estrogen-drenched chick-flick of the first order, and G.I. Joe, well, you pretty much know what you’re getting there. Bemoaning my fate, I chose the one whose schedule was most convenient: Julie & Julia.

Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, Julie &Julia is the true story of the parallel paths of it’s two title characters, Julie Powell and Julia Childs. Julie Powell is a failed writer in present-day New York who starts a French-food-related blog to give her life focus. Julia Childs is the wife of a Paris-based post-war diplomat who is likewise trying to give her life meaning. Sounds exciting, huh? Yeah, I yawned too – before I saw it. These two stories, separated by more than half a century but told in parallel, make up one of the most charming, humorous and spirit-lifting movies you’re likely to see.

I’ll confess, having grown up in the post-Julia Childs era, I was more familiar with Dan Akroyd’s Saturday Night Live lampooning of Childs than I was of the woman herself. That Streep would do her character justice was a given – she’s one of our greatest actors and could probably do a convincing portrayal of Hitler if she set her mind to it – but that in Childs she had such a character to work with was a revelation. Full of life, humor and clumsy charm, she is a joy to get to know, even if second hand. Amy Adams is great as the title’s Julia as well. A much smaller character, both literally and figuratively, than Streep’s Childs, she is no less charming. This is a real person, vulnerable and full of doubt and hope, and her joy is infectious.

While Julie &Julia is as near-perfect as any film in recent memory, I do have two nits to pick. First, one or two political interjections could have been left out, and secondly, was it really necessary for the character of Julie Powell’s husband Eric, played by Chris Messina, to have such atrocious table manners? Seriously, there’s lots of eating in this movie; we get that he loves Julie’s cooking, but couldn’t he chew with his mouth closed? Yuck.

Julie &Julia is a great movie, and one I feel lucky to have seen. There’s very little to take offense at, with the exception of the stray expletive, but young children will probably be bored. I give it six cows bathed in a burgundy sauce. Bon Apatite.