Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina
Director: Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail)
Running Time: 2 hrs 3 min
Release Date: August 7, 2009
Budget: $40 million
Average Critics’ Score: 67%
“Few movies are as delightful as Julie & Julia.” Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
“Two movies in one. That’s one more movie than it needs to be.” Keith Phipps, The Onion (A.V. Club)
With its signature Ephron charm and brilliant performances, Julie & Julia is like an aesthetically appealing beef bourguignon that’s disappointingly bland. Based on true stories by Julie Powell and Julia Child, the invigorating trailer promised to tell the inspiring tales of two struggling schmoes who achieve greatness; but, the movie feels as standard as a recipe because the characters’ motivations are unknown. Why is the life of Julie, a secretary living in 2002, so miserable that she fixes it by recreating all 524 of Child’s recipes in 365 days? But at least Julie struggles. Julia’s journey is unrealistically serene, and her cheery, self-indulgence gets old as fast as Streep’s high-pitched – though spot-on – vocal impersonation does.
