Another movie pick of the month

I don't get any reception on my television set, so the only thing I watch on it are movies on DVD and video. I actually watch a lot of movies, but rarely in the theater. I like to wait a few months when they are available for rent for a mere fraction of the cost of going to the theater, and I don't have to listen to other people talking. But since the film Julie & Julia is based on Julie Powell's "year of" book I spent the money and went to see it with my husband and daughter. (This brought the total number of films I've seen in the theater this year to a stunning four - Twilight, Food, Inc., Harry Potter were the other three).


I thoroughly enjoyed this funny film. Meryl Streep as Julia Child was fabulous. The movie tells the stories of both Julia Child and her life in France and Julie Powell as she works her way through all 500+ recipes in Child's cookbook in one year. It is refreshing to see a movie that tells the story of not one, but two, good marriages. Ironically, the movie was written by Nora Ephron whose movie Heartburn, told the story of her own bad marriage. Heartburn was particularly memorable for how much I disliked it. I have seen some of Ephron's other efforts, and most I could take or leave. She really hit the mark with J&J though. I put it right up there with When Harry Met Sally...

One part of the movie that both James and I were intrigued by was Powell's description of aspic which she was "sorry" to have come to in the cookbook. Aspic is made from calf's foot jelly, which Powell boiled down herself. Majumdar talks of a similar gelatinous ingrediant used in pork pie, which he says is made from pigs "trotters" - those Brits! Anyway, I have only this to say about the whole thing - yick.

One scene in the movie has Powell and her husband visiting an exhibit of Child's kitchen that the Smithsonian put on display on August 19, 2002. To read more about this kitchen, custom built for 6'2" Child, see this entry from Mass Moments.

Julia Child's birthday was earlier this month on August 15. I had really intended to see the movie then, but it didn't work out.

Julie Powell's book is on my list for November, when my theme will be food.

To hear Nora Ephron talk about her movie on NPR click here.