According to Philadelphia Weekly this is the first movie based on a blog. Julie Powell decided to cook each of the 524 recipes in "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking," the first cookbook from Julia Child, in the course of a year and blogged about the process and its effects on her life. The blog became a book, which, along with Child's autobiography, was the basis for "Julie & Julia." So technically, it's not directly based on a blog. No matter. It's lots of fun. The film depicts both post-WWII France -- when Julia Child and her husband Paul, a U.S. diplomat, lived in Paris and Julia learned to cook at famous cooking school Le Cordon Bleu, and began the collaboration that led to that first cookbook -- and 2002 and 2003, when Julie Powell began her project in the tiny Queens apartment she shared with her husband Eric. As the film shifts back and forth, we see how both women's projects develop over time, and how events impact their marriages.
Meryl Streep continues her recent string of performances that are not only fine, but fun, and she and Stanley Tucci, as Julia and Paul, have great chemistry. Amy Adams, as Julie, is also fine, but she seems just a little too nice. At one point, during a rough time with her husband (Chris Messina), she asks her friend, "Am I a bitch?" Julie's friend says yes, and Julie agrees, but the bitchiness isn't really apparent at all. It's a very minor quibble, though. My grade: A-minus.
P.S. Coming soon...well, eventually...to a theater near you: The Joe In Philly Experience: The Movie!
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