I am not a movie critic, in fact I rarely watch movies. I cannot remember the last movie I watched, but I think it was Enchanted, which strangely enough starred Amy Adams, who is also the star of Julie and Julia.
Since the movie Julie and Julia has the blog world buzzing, I decided to post my thoughts on the movie in case you were deciding whether to spend the big bucks and hit the theatre this weekend.
This movie is based on two true stories, the life of Julia Child and Julie Powell. I think everyone has heard of Julia Child, and every blogger dreams of becoming Julie Powell – a blogger who gets a book deal… and then a movie deal, and then is played in the movie by an absolutely adorable actress, Amy Adams. Well, actually I think I should be played by Angelina Jolie, ( I mean she does have a boatload of kids, just like me).
Back to the movie, since I don’t really know how to write a movie review I’ll break in down into bullets, my specialty.
Good Points:
- Great acting: Seriously, Meryl Streep plays an amazing Julia Child, the voice, the mannerisms, so believable. Whoever plays Julia’s sister is perfect too. Great casting for this movie.
- Great relationships: The love between Julia and her husband Paul is so real on screen. There is great chemistry between Meryl and Stanley Tucci. The relationship between Julie and her husband Eric draws you in as well. It was difficult to remember that these were actors.
- Food: Do not go to this movie hungry. Within the first 15 minutes you will be starving. The food photography is excellent and everything looks so good you can almost taste it.
- True to Life: The ups and downs of blogging is laid out for everyone to see. When Julie gets here first comment there are high fives and cheers. There is a constant wondering of who is reading her blog. Eventually the blog starts to take over her life… (cough, cough, not that I would know anything about that)
Bad Points:
- Potty Mouth: While there is not a ton of profanity, there is some, and it is so unnecessary. Not that it is ever necessary, but this movie would have been better had the nasty language been left out. A quick glance at Julie Powell’s blog made me realize that they toned down the language for this movie…
- Disappointing ending: I do not want to spoil the ending, but let’s just say the movie didn’t feel over when it ended. I left wanting more, wanting closure, and I didn’t get it.
Wrap Up
I liked the movie, but really wished there was no foul language. The acting, story and cinematography were excellent. It was a technical masterpiece, but left me wanting something more. While I was watching it, I didn’t want it to end, but when it ended I felt I needed 5 more minutes. Almost like a book that was missing the last three pages. All in all, I liked the movie and don’t regret spending the $17 (gulp) on a date night with my husband.
Be glad you have kids old enough to sit for you, or date night would be A LOT more than $17, lol!
What Amanda said, LOL! Not much longer for me until the oldest will be ready. Then it’s time for dh and I to Par-TAY! /silliness
when i saw the preview i knew i wanted to see it for my birthday weekend (the big 30!), still haven’t figure out when i’ll have time to though.
Thanks for the review! I have seen a lot of commercials for that movie lately. I haven’t been to the movies in around 3 years, but maybe I can catch it on video.
I am going to see this movie for girls night out. Perfect review, thank you, you didn’t give anything away and still let me know what to expect.
I want to go and see this movie! It does look good. Althogh I hate an ending that leaves you hanging. The new Harry Potter movie was like that. I left there thinking now what else could happen?
Glad you and dh had a date night. My dh and I are finally going on small dates again. It is kind of funny to have a little bit of that freedom back. But I am just has happy to be home with dh and my dd at the end of the evening.
I went out with my husband last night too and we saw the movie. I loved it! And I really liked the ending. It left me wanting more, but in a good way. It was a feel good movie and super fun to watch. Being a food blogger myself made it even more fun.
I’m looking forward to seeing this movie. I’ll probably wait for it to come out on Redbox. Thanks for your review! You did a great job!
God bless,
Amanda
I took my daughter (she’s a chef) to it last night and we loved it!! We went to the early showing and only had to fork out $5 a piece. It was money well spent, we laughed a lot and even got choked up at the tender moments. My only complaint was with the bad language, but at least it was not riddled with it. A must see for foodies and bloggers!!
My girl friends and I are going to see this movie this week — they thought I’d find it enjoyable
I don’t know if this would help w/ the movie as I haven’t seen it yet but Julie Powell has a new book comming out that kinda picks up where the movie left off. I did a Wikkipedia search of her. Just an FYI in case you were really interested.
I didn’t see the movie, but I read the book and I have to say I was very disappointed. I thought I was going to get more out of the story but it ended up being a waste of money. Oh well.
I LOVED your review of the movie, and had a lot of the same thoughts. I had not read the book, but the girlfriend I went with had, and it was interesting to see how our opinions on the movie differed because of it.
I also thought the ending was abrupt (I wrote about it in my own blog this morning) but I also didn’t love the relationship between Julie and her husband. I loved how supportive he was, but (without giving too much away for people who haven’t seen it) the way the two dealt with the tension really made me angry, and I think it glossed over how it was probably handled in real life.
You know it has to be Angelina Jolie…….she could pass for your sister. But I must say her family is not as nice. Love ya!!
Couldn’t have agreed with you more on the ending. I felt like it was left very open ended & I also read that Julie’s dh left her b/c of an affair, not b/c of a fight.
It was good.
I am waiting til I have complete silence in my house full of boys to write my review.
The language is the reason I couldn’t get past Chapter 3 of the book — and why I have an awful taste in my mouth just thinking about the movie. Such a disappointment…. it’s a great concept.
Unfortunately from what i’ve read on other sites Julie was scatter brained and a bit of a potty mouth. They sweetened up the character for the movie.
Sounds like an interesting movie when I saw the previews. I don’t like potty mouth either. MmmMMmdo I want to see it? I saw parts of an old movie we’d seen years ago on cable channel the other night. So much swearing. I wish that Hollywood would realize that we don’t need to hear the swearing/potty mouth to make a good movie. I’ve seen good/great movies that don’t have that in there. Thanks for your input and comments on the movie.
http://grandmabeckyl.blogspot.com
I loved it too–but I agree, the ending needed more. But overall a cute movie.
You know, it must be just like the book. I hated the potty mouth and I just felt like it make the book so much less. I loved the idea of it, but didnt now why she needed to swear so much.
Thank you for the review!
I didn’t notice that there was a lot of “potty mouth” going on. I guess I will have to go see it again and keep my ears open to the excessive bad mouth. My dh and I saw it last night (after dinner, thanks for the tip) and we both enjoyed the story and the exceptional acting by Meryl S. and Tucci. We found it to be very entertaining and not a lesson in real life… In response to Amanda’s post… don’t you compensate your older children when they babysit?
Thanks for your review. Maybe we’ll watch it on Netflix. I did try to read the book right after it came out, but I honestly did not get through more than the first chapter and stopped reading. I’m not usually too bothered by a lot of bad words, but I just couldn’t get through it. It was just way too much. Glad to hear that they toned it down some for the movie.
I have yet to see the movie but I did read the book. I found it at the library before there was all the movie buzz. I had no idea what I was getting and was shocked by the language. I should have turned the book back in but I wanted to find out how it all ended. I have to say, the book kind of left me feeling the same way. Wanting to know more.
However, I can’t wait to see the movie and am glad they toned the language down. I am guessing they must of altered her personality somewhat because it was a little much too.
I just finished the book myself and am so turned off by the language, comparing all the food to…ergh… and other things that I am not sure I even want to SEE the movie. Sigh… It sounded like such a great concept though!
Just re-noticed this review. I saw the movie because my friend wanted to, and I agree it was very well done – I would mention the photography and they way they captured the era- I felt like I traveled back in time. I do not agree about the chemistry between Julia and her husband, every time he talked I expected him to say “but I’m leaving you.” I also was SO DISAPPOINTED in the “ending.” The non-ending. Great review!