Julie and Julia - Review

To sum it up by using the favorite food for both of the titled characters, Julia is butter while Julie is hotel-butter. The Julia portions of this film are simply an infectious creation whipped up for the screen. However, the Julie portions can not be anything more than hotel-butter; wanting to have the same flavor but is dispensable and utterly a bad taste to the bread of the film.

JULIE AND JULIA wasn't a film that I wanted to see or had the same magnitude of previously hyped films, but the buzz surrounding Meryl Streep's performance got to me. After witnessing the horrors of the disasterpiece known as MAMMA MIA! where she was miscast, I needed to see some type of redemption or return to form from her. At first, I thought the praise wasn't untrue; the prologue where Julia Child nearly runs around Paris for the first time was almost a parody and too over-the-top. But as the film continues and the two stories are layered do we see that Streep pulls off a great performance. She creates enough zest to bring joy to the viewer but keeps it in check with some inclusions of dramatic moments and body language to show her inner thoughts and fears. Though the ending of her story is obvious, the performance by Streep is a delicious treat (And, yes, there will be more lame food puns).

Nora Ephron, the writer and director of the film, must truly hate Julie Powell. Each and every scene given to her character's quest to cook all 524 recipes in Child's book is an annoying existential mess with too much cups of narcissism. It isn't Amy Adams' fault; she goes through the motions and pulls off what's said in the script. But, the entire story of Julie is polluted with non-stop whining, many unexplained questions, and characters who simply are nothing more than characters. The viewer will hear Julie talk about Julia constantly and her crazy obsession of the famed cook. At her 30th birthday, she even dresses up as her to entertain the guests. I'm surprised she didn't just keep wearing it and eventually speak in Child's distinct voice. This isn't some crazy thoughts dreamt up by me: this portion of the film is nearly a modern horror film for how much despair and love addiction is placed in it.

I do feel bad for Chris Messina. I loved him in his short role in AWAY WE GO earlier this year and now his mainstream exposure goes to a very thankless role as Julie's loyal husband. He's practically a Smiling Jack and delivers comedic responses every time he talks. Ephron doesn't put any thought into the male characters of the film, though Stanley Tucci is given some moments, and doesn't even wish too. When Messina says a line about how males don't hate their friends, Adams rebounds by saying "We're not talking about men." That line shows Ephron's focus.

Nora Ephron may have been a good choice for the picture but with her intense control over it, the unevenness of this feature lays entirely on her. Her never-flashy, stay basic direction shows too greatly in the Julie story but some color and artistic ideas come in the Julia plot. She doesn't create any vision of the post 9/11 New York; instead, she keeps everything cramped indoors and not very festive. This is very odd considering Ephron made New York City a beautiful and vibrant place in her previous films and scripts.

The film does get my recommendation largely due to Meryl Streep and the Julia story. The film could have had more vigor and fun with this plot not to mention more focus on the artistry and joy of cooking. Instead, we get another storyline to ruin the mood with its smugness and blaming the internet for its problems. Like a Snickers bar, you have to get through the rough peanuts to get to the cream.

FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5