Quite a delectable treat!

Grade: B

Julie & Julia

Indian Release Date: 23/10/09
CBFC Classification: U/A
Running Length: 2 Hours 03 Minutes

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina
Director: Nora Ephron
Screenplay: Nora Ephron, based on Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Music: Alexandre Desplat

Calling all foodies, a yummy movie to warm the cockles of your heart.

Director Nora Ephron gives us a thankful excuse to sit down and veg. Ephron previously gave us movies such as 'Sleepless in Seattle' and 'You've Got Mail', but something tells me she's realised that it's the simple things in life which give us pleasure.

'Julie & Julia' is the true story of two women, both before they became famous. Julia Child was an American Chef, Author and TV Personality who rose to fame in the 1960's by teaching the American public how to cook French cuisine.

Julie Powell played here by Amy Adams rose to not such great heights after she spent a year cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook, 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. She set up an internet blog and then proceeded to cook 524 recipes in 365 days. This I must add managed to earn her a publishing deal... clever!

Through the movie we switch from one story to the other and to be honest I was much happier when the story was following Julia. Of course her story is more interesting, set in France after World War II, wonderful scenery, beautiful sets, but the real secret to Ephron's 'Julia' is Meryl Streep. Streep as we all know is an amazing actress and could play a hyena with swine flu doing the cancan if asked. At first glance her character seems to be a little OTT but actually Julia Child was really like that, larger than life and with a voice straight out of the Muppet Show.

We are greeted with some beautifully shot scenes of post war France as Julia Child and her diplomatic husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) move to Paris. Julia is totally enamored with the city and also with her husband but she feels she ''must doooo something'' and not be like those ''French wives who dooo nothing!''. We follow her as she tries various pastimes but she can't seem to settle on anything. What she is really looking for is a career and we are very much pleased for her when she finds it. ''All I want to dooo is eat'' she laughs, and there we have it, the secret to Julia's success.

When we dooo switch stories to Julie Powell, we find ourselves in New York post 9/11. Julie works in a cubicle for a company that is involved in the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and has to listen to victim's families on the phone all day. A failed writer and living above a pizzeria with her husband, her way of relaxing when she gets home is to cook. She stresses about her job, hates her friends and like many of our generation ''can't seem to finish anything''. Luckily she has a supporting husband and together they come up with the idea to start a blog and the only thing she wants to write about is cooking. The task of completing Julia Child's cookbook is for her like being in ''AA'', one day at a time. And it struck me to be a very apt symptom of the kind of world we live in, the ''I must achieve something - ANYTHING!!'' syndrome, or in Julia's day ''I must dooo something''.

We follow both as they struggle along their path and the rest as you will see is history.

There are some great sets in this movie and Julia Child's actual kitchen can be seen. This particular kitchen is on display at the National Museum of America in Washington D.C.

Final Verdict: For all foodies, male or female - Bon Appétit!!

Grade B

 

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