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A huge hit worldwide (it took over $123M at the Worldwide Box Office) the film follows Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs:
Powell's Julie & Julia and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme.
In a truly refreshing take on the over crowded "biopic" market, Julie & Julia
intertwines the lives and stories of these two equally fascinating
women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose
ends... That is, of course, until
they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness
(and seven heart attacks worth of butter) anything is possible.
On the surface, Julie & Julia should just be another paint-by-numbers fluffy affair, but it soon becomes apparent that it is so much more.
There is a sense of joy that exudes from the screen which is simply inescapable.
Maybe
it is just me getting mushy in my old age (or the fact Julia Child seems
identical to my Aunty Joan) but Streep's take on Child - as a woman who
just finds the joys of life in almost everything - is nothing short of
inspiring.
It is the sort of unabashed, unpretentious positivity
which is sorely lacking in the world (let alone in the world of "cheesy
does it" cinema), and Julie & Julia delivers it in spades.
Team that with a great cast, great performances (Streep, Adams and Stanley
Tucci as Child's husband are all so charismatic on-screen), some decent
cooking tips and a surprising amount of laugh-out-loud moments... and
you've got yourself something pretty special here.
While
my footy loving mates will never forgive me for the next line - I
simply can't deny it - forget about the "Feel Good" movie of the year, Julie & Julia is the "Feel Fantastic" movie of the year. DVD Special Features
Not much on offer at all - surely in this day and age
the good folks behind the release could come up with something clever
like... I don't know... RECIPES?!?!
What you do get is a
Commentary with Writer / Director Nora Ephron and the featurette
"Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia". Conclusion:
Movie 90% Extras: 55%
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