A Culinary Masterpiece - in my kitchen and out!

Given the fact that Golden Globe nominations came out this week (among others), the Oscar hunt is now underway. I am, of course, behind. As I write this, there is a blizzard – always a good time to catch up on cleaning, writing, reading and of course film. Did I mention that I haven’t finished my Christmas baking yet either? As a way to cross numerous things off my list simultaneously, I watched my first film of the week – “Julie and Julia”.

Not only did it motivate me to bake, it also made me realize that it’s pretty freaky to see yourself in your idiocy and neuroses portrayed onscreen (and I don’t mean Meryl Streep).

“Julie and Julia” is a combination of two true stories – one from Julia Child, the reknown chef, and the other of Julie Powell, a lost married woman from Queens who gets it in her head that it’d be a great idea to cook herself through Mrs. Child’s French cookbook within one year and then share her story via her blog.

I know that Meryl Streep has gotten numerous accolades for her portrayal of Child, and I guess they’re well-deserved. The problem I have is that this is Meryl Streep. Does anyone really expect anything OTHER than her nailing the mannerisms, diction, etc perfectly? Can’t say I’m even close to being shocked.

Maybe it’s because it’s Amy Adams’ Julie Powell’s story which is new to me that made me like her character. Or the fact that Julie’s quest for culinary mastery is quite similar to my own Oscar Quest which I embark on annually (and usually finish, thank you very much). Or maybe it’s just because Amy Adams is so darn cute (as a friend tells me often). For all of those reasons, I think that “Julie and Julia” is one of the best films I’ve seen this year. This is quite a switch, because when this film was released in theaters I had almost no interest in it, and felt I could wait until the DVD release.

In addition to Streep and Adams, the other actor in this film is fantastic. Stanley Tucci plays Paul, Julia’s husband. I have no idea what their actual story was, as I didn’t read any of the source material, but he comes across as a loving, supportive, nurturing husband who would love his wife no matter what. I find that extremely refreshing to see onscreen.

I usually don’t notice the editing within a film unless it is a device within the story itself. That’s exactly what happens here. The juxtaposition of these two stories shows how closely these two align – regardless of where or when the stories are set. This concept is also underscored by the screenplay.

Every once in a while it’s nice to get a cinematic surprise. Here’s hoping that the endless dozens of cookies I have yet to bake are just as effective.

PS - Not long after I watched this film, I got my "501 Must See Movies" and notated that I had 269 left to see. We'll see if that actually goes anywhere! =)

"Julie and Julia" - Rated PG-13, 123 minutes, ***1/2