At first glance, the plot of Julie and Julia didn’t sound exactly rousing: young woman attempts to emulate Julia Child by cooking 524 of Julia’s recipes and writing a blog about doing it. However, it’s one of the few pictures out right now that seem even remotely appropriate for a Christian audience. Plugged In Online gave it a decent review, so I decided to go – and I’m glad I did. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable movie with great acting and a lot to say about what makes a good marriage.
The year is 2002. Julie Powell is a young, (about to turn 30) aspiring writer who works in a tedious government job in New York. Frustrated at work, Julie has been trying to find something worthwhile to do after she leaves the office. She’s always found cooking to be a kind of therapy, so she hits on the idea of preparing all 524 of Julia Child’s recipes in her famous cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The catch is that Julie decides she must do this in exactly one year and must also write a daily account of her cooking adventures on her blog, which she creates in the hope that someone out there in cyberspace will read about them.
Flash back to the year 1949. Stanley Child and his wife Julia, former members of the OSS (Office of Special Services, the forerunner of the CIA), are living in Paris, where Stanley has a US government job as a cultural affairs officer. The always upbeat Julia, like Julie 50+ years later, has the problem of finding something fulfilling to do. “Well, what do you like to do best?” Stanley asks her. “Eat,” Julia laughingly answers. This realization motivates Julia to attend the Cordon Bleu cooking school and team up with two French women to write the definitive French cookbook for English speakers. Julia faces numerous obstacles along the way, not the least of which is the disdainful dictum by the snobbish French woman who heads the cooking school that “You will never be a good cook.” Undeterred, Julia perseveres, and we all know what eventually happened: she wrote the cookbook and became an icon by teaching Americans cooking on her PBS TV show.
So the film proceeds in alternating sections, focusing first on Julie and then on Julia. The acting is extremely good: Meryl Streep plays Julia Child in a broad, hilarious style, and Amy Adams is terrific as the 30-year-old trying to find her niche in life. Stanley Tucci, who often portrays villains on the screen, is effective as Julia’s loving and supporting husband. And Chris Messina is good as Eric, Julie’s equally loving and supportive other half. The film seems to be primarily about two things: (1) The need to find something compelling to do in life; and (2) the need to love and support one’s spouse. Both couples have their difficulties, but they work through them and never give up. The result: Portraits of two admirable marriages that emphasize passion and eschew perfectionism.
CAUTION: There is one negative, and that is the unfortunate use of language. I heard one use of the f-word and a couple of uses of the s-word. The Lord’s name is misused a few times. There is absolutely no excuse for this. However, if you can put that element aside, you should have a great time watching this picture.
Film rating: PG-13.
My rating: 3 ¼ stars.
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