Secondhand Reviews: "Julie And Julia"

Let's face it, Nora Ephron does not get a lot of critical respect. You don't make warm & fuzzy romantic comedies like "Sleepless In Seattle" and accumulate critics' accolades and Oscar nominations. And I wouldn't claim that she necessarily should. But it does seem like critics and many members of the public were practically salivating at the chance to attack her latest, "Julie And Julia", before the ever saw it. The fact that it isn't her traditional romantic comedy and that it MIGHT, therefore, be a good idea to wait, didn't seem to occur to many folks. They probably should have. "Julie And Julia" is far from the greatest movie ever made, even specifically the great biopic ever made, but it's still a lot of fun.

If there can possibly be anyone who isn't aware of this, this movie is, as the opening titles announced, "based on two true stories". We switch back and forth between these stories: one the one hand, Julia Child's arrival in France with her diplomat husband Paul, and her gradually taking cooking classes simply as a way to pass the time, eventually realizing that cooking was going to be her life.. On the other, Julie, working in a frustrating, non-fulfilling government job who takes up blogging about her attempts to cook her way through all the recipes in Julia Child's famous French cookbook to find a creative outlet of her own. As the film goes on, the parallels between their stories become increasingly clear.

One thing the critics do seem to love is the performance of Meryl Streep as Julia... and well they should. Streep might seem to be over-acting to anyone who has never seen the real Julia Child in action, but trust me: this is EXACTLY what she was like, how she talked, etc. Streep gets every mannerism down to perfection. But it''s not just a cold, technical exercise in recreating Child... an authentic enthusiasm is obvious in every line, and Streep reflect's Child's joy for life while clearly having the time of HER life playing the role. You get the distinct feeling she captures Child off-camera just as she was, too.

But for some reason, Amy Adams as Julie Powell doesn't seem to be getting the same respect, even from people who have loved her other performances. I don't know if this is the same kind of authentic recreation as Streep's performance... I suspect it probably isn't, as the storyline of the Powell segments does come across as a little more soap opera-like, and Powell is depicted as being a little more short-tempered and self-centered than Child. But Adams' nearlyboundless charm does go a long way toward making her character... if not always likable... at least understandable. And she clearly grows quite a bit from her experience. Plus, even in the midst of the not-quite-as-authentic-feeling storyline, you still get plenty of funny scenes: in particular, I thought the bit involving Powell's "guilt" about having to become a "lobster killer" in order to prepare a lobster dish was a real hoot.

I also regret that the (perhaps understandable) concentration on the two female leads has lead so many to completely neglect to even mention the other members of the cast. In particular, the ever-reliable Stanley Tucci provides sterling support as Child's husband. Performing a kind of equivalent to the "girlfriend" or "wife" roles in male-oriented "guy" movies, Tucci makes his potentially colorless character a kind, understanding and supportive partner, and helps the relationship between Paul and Julia to feel like you're looking in on the life of a real couple. If you're a Stanley Tucci fan to any degree, you'll regret not seeing this movie just for him.

What did Powell lack in her life? Why did she come to feel that following the pattern set by Child would provide her with it? To what extent did she succeed? And what exactly did Child accomplish beyond her personal self-fulfillment? All of these questions are answered pretty darn thoroughly in a generally amusing, entertaining film featuring several outstanding performances. True enough, there are individual moments (and an occasional bit of dialogue) that come across like something from a sitcom. And you might possibly wonder about another question which has no answer: Could someone other than Nora Ephron have made this same story in a more effective way? But "Julie And Julia" actually seems to be more like the work of Nora Ephron the acclaimed comic essayist (which she was before she ever made movies) than Nora Ephron the maker of fomulaic comedies. Working with stars like Streep, Adams and Tucci helps, of course, but she is clearly at a higher level here than she's been in a while. If she keeps coming up with material that engages her as much as this film clearly does, who knows what kind of work she might do? In the meantime, "Julie And Julia" is still plenty fun and entertaining. Do you need more of a reason to see it?.