Movie Review - Julie & Julia (2009)

Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, and Jane Lynch
Written and Directed by Nora Ephron

This is a movie that has four very good performances, but just can't seem to find itself. Telling both the story of how famous cook Julia Child (Meryl Streep) came to write her first cookbook and of how blogger Julie Powell (Amy Adams) trekked her way through all of the recipes in said Julia Child cookbook in a year, the movie just never picks up any steam and relies much too heavily on desperately trying to make comparisons between these two woman's lives. I was with the movie for the first 45 minutes to an hour, but then I just got bored with the same-old back and forth between these two women.

Despite my problems with the story, I really liked all four main actors here. Sure, Streep is simply copying Child's mannerisms and incredibly well-known voice, but I thought she did a great job. Child is certainly presented as kind of an egotistical, full-of-herself woman, but Streep sells the role. I'll be honest -- Streep made me smile multiple times during the movie simply by the way she looked at things or by a facial expression.

Amy Adams, on the other hand, is saddled with a role that's incredibly boring. I didn't give a damn about Julie Powell and her quest to do all these recipes. Adams is as cute (and, at times, hot) as could be, but Powell is a lost woman. She's trying to prove herself to someone, but in the end, I never really felt like she learned her lesson (which, if I'm being honest, I still don't quite know what this lesson was...that she can avoid procrastination?)

The two husbands -- Stanley Tucci as Child's and Chris Messina as Powell's -- were both good as well, although neither of them (Tucci in particular) really had moments that made them stand out. Nevertheless, both Tucci and Messina (who was so good in Away We Go) certainly were better than average in the simply average roles they were given.

So, here's the thing...I really think that all four of these performances were very good. On that basis, I think folks should see this one on video. However, my rating below is not going to make this flick fall into the "see it" category when I post my next "Year in Movies" post. So, rent it, but go into it not expecting a whole heckuva lot.

The RyMickey Rating: C-