I really liked Julie and Julia. It was very different than the book, which I've read, and the blog, which I've read bits of. You can read the blog too. Go click on the link that says "What could happen." That sounds kind of ominous. Most people I've talked to about the movie have said they liked the Julia parts more than the Julie parts. I did too. Several reasons. One - costume designer Ann Roth (who I'm privately obessed with and wish would dress me on a regular basis) clearly has a grand time dressing people up for Paris in the late 40s. The costumes are amazing. All the colors (okay, the set designer helped too) make it beautiful to look at. Two - Julia Child (the person) was, I think, a sort of larger than life person. In height, voice, character and spirit. And Meryl Streep is clearly having fun with that. There's also the fantastic chemistry between Meryl Streep and Stanely Tucci, who seem to genuinely like each other. Three - the character of Julia is just more likeable than the character of Julie. I don't think this is Amy Adams' fault or Julie Powell's fault. When reading the book and the blog, I genuinely liked the Julie I found there. She was spunky, slightly crude, and hilarious. The movie version has been sweented down so much she becomes whiney.
That isn't to say I didn't like the Julie segments. I empathized with the frustration of not being able to finish things and feeling unsure in life and having your hero turn out to be slightly different than you thought. And, lets face it, Amy Adams is always slightly adorable. Even in Doubt, which is very good and she is excellent as a dramatic, serious character, I still had moments of "Aw, Amy Adams."
It's really good, I was surprised how much I liked it. You leave the theater in a wonderful haze of good and believe that maybe things will turn out okay in the end. We will all find true love and waltz off into a sunset of good cooking and book deals.
Next up - finishing Giant (it's epic.) and moving back to the east coast.
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