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Movie review: Streep brings 'Julia' back to larger-than-life
Columbia Pictures
Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and her husband (Stanley Tucci) bring passion to the kitchen in "Julie & Julia."
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Published: August 4, 2009
One woman is trapped in a dead-end cubicle job, fielding emotionally wracking phone calls from the families of 9/11 victims. She is unfulfilled and unappreciated in her efforts to help people who ask questions she can barely fathom, much less answer and resolve.
A second woman is suffocating in the role of a diplomat's wife living in European luxury, unsure how to fill the gap in her life after spending the war years working for America's spy network.
Thus begin the parallel plot lines of "Julie & Julia," which tells the story of blogger Julie Powell's path to discovering a new purpose through cooking and the legend of how Julia Child became a chef during her life in France.
Director Nora Ephron takes on the daunting task of telling both stories simultaneously with a gap of 50 years. The risks are large.
Lean too heavily toward Powell's storyline, which was adapted from her book of the same name (which came from a blog called "The Julie & Julia Project"), and she could leave viewers wanting to know more of Child's amazing genesis story. Steer too heavily toward the narrative of Child's memoir "My Life In France," and Ephron would lose the modern context of a woman rediscovering herself by cooking every recipe in Child's landmark cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
Working in the director's favor is a stellar performance by Meryl Streep, who finds a way to convey Child's bulky, 6-foot-2-inch awkwardness (the actress stands just 5-foot-6), as well as the cook's iconic singsong vocal style and off-kilter mannerisms.
Contributing to her portrayal is Stanley Tucci as Child's husband Paul, a suave artist, photographer and bon vivant State Department employee who acts as an emotional support beam for his wife as she tries her hand at a variety of hobbies until she settles on attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and, later, writing a cookbook.
Their performances as husband and wife are warm and surprisingly lusty — an angle to which Child fans may have to adjust. Initially jarring to see the Childs sneak away for a helping of afternoon delight, the scenes gain weight when Julia translates that passion to her love for cooking. A bushel of onions stands no chance when Child brings the force of her determination to the kitchen.
On the other side of the spectrum are Amy Adams as Julie Powell and Chris Messina as her husband, Eric. He's the modern version of Paul Child, playing cheerleader, advice giver and sounding board with a hearty appetite.
Adams adequately depicts the frustration Powell feels in her office job, but the portrayal comes off as one-dimensional when the couple's relationship goes sour. Powell confides to a friend that it's because she's "a bitch." Her friend agrees. But neither Adams' portrayal nor Powell's behavior sell the jagged personality edges depicted in the book. Of the four main characters, hers is the weakest leg of the table.
Another small chit: the film feels a little too long. Several in the audience could be seen checking their watches with another half-hour to go. Perhaps the film and the glorious food depicted during its 122 minutes merely made them hungry for boeuf bourguignon. Child would be pleased if that were true.
MOVIE REVIEW
"Julie & Julia" ***
MOVIE BOARD RATING: PG-13 for brief strong profanity and some sensuality
STARS: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci
DIRECTOR: Nora Ephron
PLOT SUMMARY: The real-life story of two women separated by 50 years, cook Julia Child and blogger Julie Powell, as they find their respective identities through a love of cooking.
RUNNING TIME: 122 minutes
ON THE WEB: www.julieandjulia.com
Movies are rated on a scale of zero to four stars; Jeff Houck can be reached at (813) 259-7324.
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