I'm waiting for the sequel to this film that's all about Julia Child, her husband and her sister spending a weekend cavorting in Paris. I want all three characters to be played by the three actors who play them in this film -- Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci and Jane Lynch -- and I don't want one single shot of the film to show me anything other than these three and their exceptional screen chemistry.
This lopsided movie spends far too much time on the contemporary story of Julie Powell, a whiny failed writer, and her attempts to cook her way through Julia Child's formidable cook book. Amy Adams, who has given lovely performances in other things, perhaps plays Julie too well, because I wanted to strangle her. She seems to think she learns something about herself through her self-imposed challenge, and obviously owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Child (who she never meets), but what she learns I couldn't ever figure out. Her husband, played by the vaguely unlikable Chris Messina, is depicted as the Most Loving Husband on Earth, but still somehow manages to come across as a cocky jerk. Not one scene that Adams and Messina have together feels authentic -- too bad, since this movie spends about 80% of its time with them.
The other 20%, you ask? Sigh.... It's spent with the splendid Ms. Streep and Mr. Tucci mentioned above, and the brilliance of their performances only serves to bring awareness to the weak movie surrounding them.
Grade: B
This lopsided movie spends far too much time on the contemporary story of Julie Powell, a whiny failed writer, and her attempts to cook her way through Julia Child's formidable cook book. Amy Adams, who has given lovely performances in other things, perhaps plays Julie too well, because I wanted to strangle her. She seems to think she learns something about herself through her self-imposed challenge, and obviously owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Child (who she never meets), but what she learns I couldn't ever figure out. Her husband, played by the vaguely unlikable Chris Messina, is depicted as the Most Loving Husband on Earth, but still somehow manages to come across as a cocky jerk. Not one scene that Adams and Messina have together feels authentic -- too bad, since this movie spends about 80% of its time with them.
The other 20%, you ask? Sigh.... It's spent with the splendid Ms. Streep and Mr. Tucci mentioned above, and the brilliance of their performances only serves to bring awareness to the weak movie surrounding them.
Grade: B