julie/julia

the joy of movies has been re-found in the story of a 50's cooking guru and her modern day counter part. it's my third good movie in a row, after quite a stretch of duds (from "the proposal" to"cheri" to "harry potter the 6th").

julie/julia is a feast for the ears as much as the eyes and soul. i laughed out loud, i was that tickled, every time meryl streep uttered a julia childish syllable. her work here is spot on as she inflates the zepplin sized persona and she is once again ("doubt") ablely counterbalanced by amy adams. stanley tucci is well cast as her ahead of his era adoring husband who manages to anchor her without crashing her to the ground. an enviable marriage indeed.

i was worried when as i entered the theater, i was told this film is a nora ephron project- a fact i'm sure i had heard, but must have supressed. i'm still bruised after "bewitched" and i was leery of cutsie formulaic schmaltz. but have no fear, there is none of that here. this is her best yet.

meryl streep said in an interview when asked if she'd watched the old julia child cooking shows to prep for this role that she hadn't, but she did remember dan akroyd's saturday night live skits: wait for it, it's worth it!http://www.hulu.com/watch/3523/saturday-night-live-the-french-chef

it's a very fine line between impersonation and portrayal, a task made more difficult when the object was so very flamboyant. while watching ms streep present julia child, what i saw was a large woman eager to enjoy as much in this life as she possibly could- largely in a large way. and i enjoyed watching her do it. meryl streep will be getting her 14th academy award nomination for this role. i look forward to seeing the performance this year that will beat her, cause i haven't seen it yet.