Julie & Julia - A Movie Review

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"Julie & Julia" is a comedy-drama released in 2009. It was written and directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay was adapted from a book, "My Life in France" by Julia Child, and a memoir by Julie Powell, "Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen", which was later retitled, "Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously". CAST Meryl Streep - Julia Child Amy Adams - Julie Powell Stanley Tucci - Paul Child Chris Messina - Eric Powell Linda Emond - Simone Beck Helen Carey - Louisette Bertholle Jane Lynch - Dorothy Dean Cousins Mary Lynn Rajskub - Sarah Joan Juliet Buck - Madame Elisabeth Brassart Amanda Hesser - Herself This movie is actually two stories: one of Julia Child, 6' 2" tall chef, author and teacher in the early years of her culinary career, and Julie Powell, aspiring writer. The movie is handled in flashbacks, back and forth between Julia and Julie. 1949 - Julia - A French car with diplomatic plates is at a shipping dock. The car is full of boxes. Paul Child is driving his wife, Julia, into Paris. They stop for a meal at a restaurant; and Julia raves over the fish. This is the much-visited scenario as Paul and Julia love the French cooking and eat with great relish. 2002 - Julie Powell is an aspiring writer who works at the LMDC (Lower Manhattan Development Corporation) fielding calls from survivors of the World Trade Center disaster. They provide assistance to them and their families. The location is Queens, New York City, and there are boxes loaded onto a Jeep...some of them are cookbooks. Julie and Eric Powell are relocating from Brooklyn to a small walk-up (900 square feet) above a pizzeria, which is close to Eric's office. He works as a writer for a magazine. Julie has decided that she is going to take Julia Child's cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", and make all 524 recipes in 365 days and call it the "Julie/Julia Project". To hold herself accountable, she is going to record it in a blog. Julie's mother thinks it's a waste of time; but Julie is determined and begins to gain a following of her blog. Julia - attends Le Cordon Bleu to learn French cooking. She is met with some misgivings since she is the only female in the class; but she pushes through. Julia and Madam Brassart, the proprietress of the school, do not get along. Her next project is to write a cookbook for Americans about French cooking. She collaborates with Beck and Bertholle on the project. If you want to see how everything turns out, you will have to watch this movie. I am not a big Meryl Streep fan; but I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed her portrayal of Julia Child. She is manifique! I love this movie and have watched it several times. If you enjoy cooking, or even if you don't, I would highly suggest that you give this movie a try. This movie is rated PG-13.