Julie & Julia

Running Time: 2 Hours

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Julie & Julia may seem a bit bland in theory. To the many people who are unaware of Julia Child, the plot of a woman following every recipe in a cook book may sound almost unwatchable. However, the people who do see this movie will not find that they’ve spent $8 on a big-screened Food Network special. In case you are unaware, Julia Child was an exceptionally upbeat and talented chef most popular from the 1960s to the 1990s and the author of the famous “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. Julie Powell is a modern day government worker who, strapped for ideas to make a blog, makes the ambitious decision to prepare every dish in that book and write to the world about her experience.

Meryl Streep gives a very definitive air of life to Child, who often brought out the best in people she met. This wonderful performance is not solitary in the movie, though. Every character is unique and well thought-out by the actor who plays them. Motivations are ever-present, showing how people follow their passions even in the hardest of times.

Julie Powell starts her blog with no credibility or claim to fame. She works in a low-profile office job and begins her writing career by sending letters of her progress into the abyss that is the internet. She is initially met with some harsh criticism from her mother and husband, who both fail to see the point in her conquest. Julie is also skeptical of her ability to complete the task at times, most humorously while contemplating whether she can bring herself to boil live lobsters while “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads plays ominously in the background.

Julia Child is shown in her pre-“French Chef” days starting with the famous sole meunière dinner that inspired her to begin cooking. She does this with focused determination (rather than natural talent) as is exemplified in her reaction to failure while chopping an onion for the first time. The repentant action is shown when her husband comes home to find a mountain of the tear-inducing vegetables on the kitchen table after Child spends a night practicing her technique.

The similarities in the experiences of these two women are made blatant throughout the film. Child is caught in the height of McCarthyism while Powell deals with life post-9/11, one writes a book while the other writes a blog, and each uses hard work and dedication to open their doorway to fame.

Julie & Julia requires no previous knowledge of its content to be enjoyable, and may even leave the viewer with a desire to fulfill their own projects. It is innovative in being the first movie to be based on a person’s blog, and it successfully balances Julie’s story with Julia’s biography. This is a good movie with good themes, great characters and a fantastic sense of humor. To anybody looking for inspirations for their own ambitions, I couldn’t recommend this movie highly enough.

Actual Rating: This one is a bit tricky when you compare it to some that pass with a PG-13 these days. There is plenty of sex, but none of it is distasteful or vulgar. Swearing is minimal and the film does make use of its one allocated “F-word”. The only violence present is in a Saturday Night Live clip when Dan Aykroyd, playing in a skit as Julia Child, cuts his thumb whilst cooking, sending a spray of “blood” around the kitchen as he humorously tries to continue with the show. In the end, it must be left up to the maturity of the viewer. If a child could find this interesting and not feel inclined to repeat the language, I wouldn't hesitate to grant this a PG rating. If not, I'm sure "Gerbil Force" tickets are still available.