Julie and Julia -- The Movie

[ChefJune]

I'm starting a new thread for discussion of this movie, because I think it will generate quite a lot of talk -- opinions and ideas. It opens in theaters on Friday, August 7th. I was lucky to be invited to a preview last evening so I will give you my impressions, but I won't give you too many details. I don't want to spoil it for you.

The movie is as much a love story as it is about food. And I loved the depiction of Julia and Paul's relationship. Julie Powell was there last evening. She answered questions at the end of the movie and I had a chance to speak with her briefly. I liked her better than the characterization of her in the movie. I have not yet read the book (they gave us one last evening, and she signed them for us) so I don't know whether I like the book better than the movie.

The scenery is fantastic. Two of my favorite places in the world, France and New York! And I will also advise you; DON"T go to see it when you are hungry. The food is incredibly appetizing.

Come on back after you've seen the movie and let's talk.

 

[Claire]

I'm so looking forward to seeing this one. WE're already on line to get it from Netflix, and after your post, I'm planning a meal around watching it!!

 

[Robo410]

saw the flick tonight. good appreciative and attentive audience. I thought it was excellent. drooled over the French copper!

 

[ChefJune]

so now I'm reading the book Julie Powell wrote from her blog. I didn't really care for the blog, altho in fairness, I didn't read very much of it. But I am finding the book quite entertaining.

Altho years ago when Mastering the Art first came out, I cooked quite a few of the recipes step by step, I cannot imagine cooking EVERY SINGLE recipe in any book, can you? If you find it in your public library, I think it's a book every poster here would get a kick out of.

 

[BreezyCooking]

We took in a matinee performance of "Julie & Julia" this past Saturday, & it was GREAT!! Even my husband, who originally joked that I should "wake him up when it was over" enjoyed it. Meryl Streep truly had Julia's voice, appearance, & mannerisms down pat - completely AMAZING. I don't think there's another actress alive who could have done it so well. Stanley Tucci was also terrific as Paul Child. And even though many reviews didn't care for the modern "Julie" part of the story, they really worked it in well, & I don't think it would have been even remotely as good of a movie if it had just been a straight bio-pic of Julia Child. Anyway - for any of you foodies out there who ever enjoyed "The French Chef", I really think you'll like this movie.

One thing the movie did do was "clean up" "Julie" quite a bit. For one thing, there's absolutely ZERO physical resemblance between the real & acted Julies (unlike Meryl Streep & Julia); for another, in the movie Julie is portrayed more as a rather sweetnatured - if dysfunctional - waif rather than the real "Julie" where "f***" was (& still is) a regular part of her blog vocabulary & her writing style can be more than a bit crude. In real life, although Julia Child certainly wasn't a saint, I can see where she was somewhat offended by the way Julie wrote her blog. Unfortunately, because the movie made "Julie" out to be so goodnatured & sweet, when, in the movie, she finds out that Julia Child dislikes her blog & finds it disrespectful, you're sort of lost because the movie really hasn't shown you the real-life Julie. That's probably the only part of the movie that I found didn't make any sense because it didn't realistically depict Julie's true personality as she portrays on her blog.

Although I was surprised reading so many poor reviews for this film, I was planning on seeing it regardless. It was a full house for a 2:00 p.m. matinee & everyone was laughing & seemed to be having a good time. And needless to say it was an adult crowd, which was also very nice. I think it does definitely help if you already know some of the background - especially if you've read Julia's "My Life in France", which really was/is a wonderful book. Otherwise I can see where some folks might be a little in the dark sometimes re: some of the segments.

But all in all - I give it a hearty thumbs up, especially for us "foodies".

 

[luvs]

ohhhhh, i loved that movie! not the current so much as meryl streep's role in it; she was great with her role 'an that!

 

[Robo410]

I feel very lucky indeed if 5 recipes in a "specialty chef's" book interest me enough to cook them. I think I have cooked 30 or so from Mastering and keep about 12 in my standard repertory. But methods and techniques are often taught even though one does use a recipe.

The beof a la Bourguinogne in the film was not quite authentic. Compare what you saw with the recipe. But that is understandable as the movie is a visual and needs a certain look I suppose.

Funny, less than a week after seeing the movie, a mother and daughter were at the butchers buying meat chunks so they could go home and make the recipe. It is a beautiful stew.

 

[Scotch]

Great flick, IMHO, and I agree about Meryl -- she channeled Julia Child!

But no wonder it has had mixed reviews -- not a single car chase, no mechanical monsters, no aliens, no gratuitous sex!

 

[shubh]

I expected the film to be good, but it was even better than expected. humor was one of the driving forces of the film, but that didn't take away from some more serious moments- rather, it accentuated them and made them all the more poignant and even heartbreaking. The two true stories are perfectly balanced. Screenplay strikes some wonderful parallels between the two women.

 

[urmaniac13]

In Italy this film has finally been released in late October, and I finally got a chance to see it two nights ago. I was utterly delighted. I always knew Meryl Streep was one of the best actresses of all time, however the way she captured the spirit of the legendary figure, so unique, loveable, endearing and unforgettable from inside and out, was so spot on it was beyond belief, and it was easy to see she was having a blast playing this role which made it so much more fun for us to see.
I also have to compliment Amy Adams and her husband actually, they were stuck with such thankless roles, it was obvious everyone would shower their praise for Ms. Streep while continuing on how weaker the Julie bit was compared to Julia the great. They did a plausible job considering everything, and made what could easily have been highly boring/annoying parts of the film reasonably entertaining.

 

[Silversage]

If anyone is interested in the DVD, it's being released in early December (just in time for Christmas).

Target.com and Amazon.com are both taking pre-orders at just $10 !!!!!! And Target has free shipping.

Just thought I'd pass it along......

 

[ChefJune]

Yippee!