julia child Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Julie & Julia
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Theatrical Reviews », Summer Movies »
Movies with food-related themes at their core have always appealed to me: I like eating, I like watching movies, why not combine the two? Julie & Julia does so quite deftly, resulting in a lighthearted comedy that's very easy to like. And these days, a movie with intelligent humor and masterful comic performances is hard to find, so that should be enough to satisfy me. And it very nearly was, although I didn't feel quite appeased afterwards.
Nora Ephron directed the comedy, adapting two stories and squashing them together: Julie Powell cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 2002 as detailed on her blog and in her book Julie and Julia; and Julia Child going from bored housewife in Paris to cookbook co-author, as detailed in the book My Life in France.
Girls on Film: When Women are Wasted
Filed under: Fandom », Columns », Girls on Film »
No, this isn't a look into gals who drink mass amounts of booze on film. This is a look into Julia Child. (Although, of course, the chef had a definitive love of libations.) Julie & Julia is finally making its way to theaters on August 7, and as early reviews and responses come in, one thing is certain: Meryl Streep steals the show.
This is no surprise. As loved as Amy Adams is, it's hard to live up to the powerhouse -- especially when Streep has so perfectly embodied a woman most could never hope of mimicking. Every clip that comes out (see a good collection of them here), is practically Child on the screen herself. Streep's got the iconic voice, the spunk, and even -- somehow -- the stature. (Meryl Streep is 5'6", and Child was 6'2".)
Adams, dare I say it, almost seems out of her element -- and not in an "everywoman learning to cook" sort of way. Where her exuberance and charisma usually seeps out of her -- in everything from Drop Dead Gorgeous and Psycho Beach Party to Sunshine Cleaning and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day -- the Julie-centric clips don't hold the same magic.
Perhaps the magic ties together in the full feature, but this just leaves me thinking about those times when wonderful female performances are stuck in films that don't live up to their acting achievements.
Meryl Streep to Play Food Guru Julia Child
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Casting », Sony », Newsstand »
It's the first day of November and time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. But more importantly it's time to be thinking about food. And cooking. And Julia Child, of course. So, what better time for news that a Julia Child movie is on it's way? According to Variety, Columbia Pictures is adapting Julie Powell's book Julia and Julie: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, about the author's year-long attempt to cook all the recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and detail it in her food blog (and then book). In the movie, which will simply be titled Julia and Julie, Powell will be portrayed by Amy Adams and Child will be played by Meryl Streep. Chick-flick queen Nora Ephron, who needs a comeback following Lucky Numbers and Bewitched, is writing the script and will direct.Now, Powell never met Child, so the latter character will have to be some kind of apparition for the former. Like a culinary guide. This makes sense, because it just wouldn't be cinecomatic to show Powell simply reading a cook book and then making dishes. But will it still just be a bunch of cooking scenes in a tiny apartment with Amy Adams and a distinctly accented Meryl Streep chatting in the little kitchen? Even with Streep overdoing the part -- a la Dan Aykroyd -- that can't be too interesting. Then again, between Waitress and Ratatouille this year, and movies like Big Night in the past, I do get excited about films showcasing great food. Amazon.com describes the book as being a "masterful medley of Bridget Jones' Diary meets Like Water for Chocolate," so if that sounds good to you, look for Julia and Julie sometime in late 2008 or early 2009.
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