Friday night was "girls' night out", and I went with two friends, Katie and Laura, to see the new movie, Julie and Julia. Written and directed by Nora Ephron, this movie is based on two true stories.
Julie & Julia depicts the story of celebrity chef Julia Child in the formative years of her career, contrasting her life with that of blogger Julie Powell, who takes a year to cook all 524 recipes from Child's first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and Powell's memoir. In 2002, Powell started a blog documenting her daily cooking experiences for each recipe in Child's cookbook, known as The Julie/Julia Project, and in 2005 published a book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. The 2006 paperback version was retitled Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. Julie & Julia is the first major motion picture based on a blog.
What a perfect movie for the three of us to see! As an avid blogger, I enjoyed the blogging aspects of this movie. I've been blogging for about a year, and my friends Katie and Laura have recently started writing blogs of their own.
This humorous movie is entertaining for many reasons, but I'll mention only a few. I think Meryl Streep is a wonderful actress and portrays Julia Child well, robust and full of life, while Amy Adams is adorable as celebrity blogger Julie Powell, who blogged her way out of the doldrums and into the hearths of many. It was refreshing to see loving marriages in a movie. Julia and her husband, Paul, are happily married in the movie and adore each other. In an era before many women had careers, Paul encourages Julia to pursue her love of food, to write, and to have her own cooking show on TV. Julie and her husband, Eric, also have a loving marriage in the movie (even if he does tease her about being a "lobster killer", qu'est-ce que c'est?). Parts of Julie & Julia were filmed in Paris and the movie has an appealing French look and feel. I left the theater craving boeuf bouguignon and wanting to get my hands on a copy of Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
This is definitely a good movie choice for bloggers, cooks, fans of Julia Child or Julie Powell, and those wanting lighter fare.
View the trailer for Julie & Julia.
Your comments are welcomed.
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I like the sound of that one!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to see if i can get the DVD here!
This sounds like a good movie - we don't go out to the movies too often so, I will wait for the DVD release. I also need to read the book - maybe I will get a chance to do so before the DVD release. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteDoes the movie live up to the book? I do want to see it.
ReplyDeleteI so want to see this movie! Meryl Streep looks wonderful in the previews! Now to just get my hands on the book first...
ReplyDeleteThis is such an enjoyable movie. I hope you'll all be able to see it. But make sure you've eaten beforehand!
ReplyDeleteAdditonal comments are welcomed!
this does look like a great movie! I'm a fan of Meryl Streep too.
ReplyDeletehttp://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
There are so many cute movies that I want to see right now but Julie and Julia and The Time Traveler's Wife are at the top of my list to see this summer. Thank you for the review, now I know it's worth seeing!
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much about this movie! I am glad you gave it a thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful fusion - cooking, blogging and Meryl Strip! And the book sounds as exciting as the movie. Well I'm going to check out the blog first, it is the one nearest to hand...
ReplyDeleteWhat a great review! I've been wanting to see the movie too.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to see this movie with my husband this weekend (we are trying to plan a date night without the kids)!!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for taking the time to post a comment. Please stop by again for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card!
ReplyDeleteAdditional comments welcomed!
I just adored this movie -- the book was good too but i loved the movie.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for your comments! I appreciate them and always welcome more.
ReplyDeleteI've just joined the Spice of Life Challenge, which will compel me to get Child's first cookbook!
I too really enjoyed this movie, for all the reasons you mentioned. My wife and I went and watched it last week and we each left the theater satisfied with seeing a delightful film...and hungry for boeuf bouguignon! :)
ReplyDeleteWe were both very struck by the portrayal of such a loving, supportive marriage. It is sad that something like that should be such a shock at the movies, but it is.
I also was struck by how fun it was that, as far as I know, Nora Ephron had made the first film about email with You've Got Mail and then stepped in to do this first major film about blogging. I actually enjoyed many of the parallels I saw between this film and You've Got Mail.
A wonderful film that made me go right out and add both books to my library queue.
Carl, thank you for your insightful comments. It's interesting how modern technology makes it way into movies, and books.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, your blog has a very striking design! I'm looking forward to your R.I.P. IV Challenge.