Over the weekend, V and I went to see "Julie & Julia" at the local Cinemark. First off, let me say this: theater chains are completely corrupt. The reason movie attendance is down is not because of the evils of pirating, nor can it be blamed (solely, at least) on the sorry state of our economy. The reason, by my completely arbitrary and unreseached estimation, is that going to the theater is expensive. On our trip, we bought too non-matinee tickets, a small popcorn, a large drink, and some SweetTart dots, to a total of about 30 dollars. Had we been seeing a 3D movie, the total would have been $5 dollars more for the two tickets. It's outrageous.
Now, once my heart had settled a bit (okay, to be fair, that's hyperbole; I expected it), we sat down to enjoy the film. I had the benefit of having seen no trailers and only one movie poster, so my preconceived notions of what the movie was supposed to be were fuzzy at best. I knew Meryl Streep was playing Julia Child, and that there was theoretically someone involved named Julie, but that was about it.
The film tells the story of an almost-30-year-old woman and her goal to cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a year's time, and blog about it the entire way. It also tells the story of Julia Child becoming who we remember her as. The two stories are told in interchanging scenes as related events happen to the characters.
Meryl Streep is excellent as Julia Child. Now, that may be because I have no idea what Julia Child looked or acted like, as I have no attachment to her. Either way, Streep performed to her usual excellence. Amy Adams stars as Julie, the blogger. I'm a fan of Adams, but this performance didn't seem like her best work. Maybe I just can't separate her from her bubbly "Enchanted" self. This is not to say that she was bad in the role. I thought she was very good, just not as great as she has been in the past. All the supporting characters were good, but not quite as much so as the hilarious Jane Lynch. Her portrayal of Julia's sister was fun and funny.
My only real complaint was that the movie didn't seem to have an ending, but that's an issue you occasionally have with true stories. Real life doesn't always have an ending at all, let alone a happy one.
All in all, it was a fun biopic, and a great date movie. If you aren't bothered by a few less-than-perfect moments, it is highly recommended.
