Jan 17 2010
Julie & Julia (2009)
Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams
Written and Directed by Nora Ephron
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sensuality
2 hours 3 minutes
Sometimes a movie is more about a performance than the story. That is certainly the case with Julie & Julia, where Meryl Streep steals the show portraying Julia Child as she struggles to master the art of cooking in 1950s France. The bubbly personality that Streep brings to an already rich character is both infectious and inspiring. Contrast that with Amy Adams’ (Enchanted) role as modern day Julie Powell, a pleasant but somewhat unremarkable woman who tries to find meaning in her unfulfilling life by blogging about cooking her way through Julia Child’s cookbook in a year. Adams does her best to make her character interesting, but there just isn’t a whole lot to work with. All in all, there is some connection between the two stories but it is never strong enough to keep us interested in Julie. This is really a good movie and an average movie about similar subjects that were forced together. Unfortunately, Adams’ side dish does little to complement Streep’s delicious entree.
Grades:
Julie: B-
Julia: A-
Julie & Julia: B
View the trailer here.