The Julie & Julia Project
Bon appétit, y’all!
One of my favorite books of 2008 is being made into a movie (Julie & Julia), opening tomorrow around the country. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell is the autobiographical memoir of the young Texan in the year she is 29. Pushing 30, stuck in a dinky apartment in Queens, and sick of working in dead-end admin jobs, Powell decides to try to give herself a project that is bigger than all this mundane ennui: she will make all the recipes in her mother’s old Julia Child recipe book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, over the course of one year.
Madcap adventures and hilarious hijinks ensue, as she tries to track down gourmet ingredients and bizarre cooking accoutrement in modern day Manhattan, all without the benefit of a car. But, when the media catches wind of it all, the project really takes on a life of its own, and Nora Ephron (producer: Sleepless in Seattle) decides she wanted to make a movie out of it. Ephron tells Powell’s tale by weaving in scenes from one of my other recent favorite books, My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme (who is her husband Paul’s grandnephew).
The inimitable Meryl Streep will play Julia Child and the cuter-than-a-basket-of-puppies Miss Amy Adams will star as Powell. I think Streep is superbly cast but I am a bit curious as to how the Amy Adams/Julie role will play out. Powell is quite sardonic, sarcastic, and mouthy in the book, and Amy Adams is… well, Amy Adams is “Ella Enchanted.”
While serious foodies and gourmands will find little to sustain themselves in this late 20s/early 30s “find yourself” tale, the movie will still likely appeal to the latter demographic – or to anyone who remembers when they were in this demographic. Either way, pass the popcorn and Milk Duds: I’m in!
(Or, maybe a more upscale movie snack would be called for this time? Coq au vin, anyone?)
Read on:
Amazon.com – Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
Amazon.com – My Life in France
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Comments
You are funny. I wanted to see this movie, and it sounds like you really liked the book. What’s interesting to me is that Meryl Streep and Amy Adams both recently appeared together in a far different film, Doubt. Talk about going from serious subject matter to something a little lighter!
Good point, Michelle! “Doubt” was another very good movie in which they appeared. I had forgotten about that! I enjoyed that movie very much too. And it’s interesting: diff people whom I have spoken to after the movie had diff impressions of the priest: some thought he was guilty, some thought not. Overall, I thougth a very thought-provoking movie. Thanks for the reminder about this! 
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