While I don't outright disagree with Herald critic Rene Rodriguez's review of Julie & Julia - what he writes is right on target - I have to admit I liked the movie a bit more than he did. We both loved Meryl Streep as the iconic Julia Child; to nobody's surprise, Streep is excellent, and I felt nothing but pure delight every time she strode into a scene shouting "Bonjour!" Rene is spot-on in his descriptions of Streep's physicality, how she uses her body and voice to conjure up the larger-than-life personality of the woman she's portraying.
I had more patience than Rene did with the modern-day story of blogger Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams), though I wouldn't deny that this story lacks conflict and that the fight between Julie and her husband seems totally manufactured to lend a bit of drama. Still, there's something intriguing to me about working one's way through this cookbook. I am not a bad cook, but I am an unambitious one, and the idea of deboning a duck or making buerre blanc or fiddling around with aspic (ewww) intrigues me. (OK, maybe not the aspic part, that just grosses me out.) I mean, I'll never actually do it, but I enjoy watching someone else struggle on through while I throw together a white bean and arugula salad.
And I have to confess:I haven't eaten red meat for three years, but looking at that beef bourginon that Julie makes (not the one she burns) shook me to my carnivorous core.
I haven't read Powell's book - her new one, the intriguingly titled Cleaving: A Story of Meat, Marriage and Obsession, is due out Dec. 1 - but the movie certainly makes me want to give it a shot.
A team of wild horses, a pistol, free beer. Three things that would get me to see this movie.
Posted by: patrick | August 07, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I bet you would see it if a zombie busted into the Cordon Bleu, and Julia hacked him up with a carving knife.
Posted by: Connie | August 07, 2009 at 12:42 PM
This movie made me hungry.
Posted by: Rene Rodriguez | August 07, 2009 at 12:52 PM
The duck thing was pretty disgusting but OH that beef.
Also it made me want to drink red wine.
Posted by: Connie | August 07, 2009 at 01:03 PM
Also, what is buerre blanc? Is that like a burrito?
Posted by: Rene Rodriguez | August 07, 2009 at 01:11 PM
this is a really good read.
im glad you liked the movie. i really want to see it and your endorsement is a good sign.
Posted by: just sayin | August 07, 2009 at 02:26 PM
Rene, you just didn't understand this movie, as your idea of the food pyramid goes something like this:
Ice cream sundae
Coke and fries
Burger and burritos and chicken nuggets
Posted by: Connie | August 08, 2009 at 10:53 AM
I liked the book -- and I wasn't particularly expecting to, going in. I found Powell's voice to be funny and self-deprecating without being grating. Also, it wasn't just blog postings strung together -- it definitely read like a real memoir. Interestingly, I thought the recreated Julia sections of the book the least successful. But I'm looking forward to seeing Streep's portrayal.
Posted by: Nan | August 21, 2009 at 11:42 AM