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Julie and Julia: One Amazing Story . . . and Another One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:45:29 -0700

Julie and Julia markets itself as being based on "two true stories": one of Julie Powell, a secretary-turned-blogger who endeavors to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year; the other of Child herself, also a secretary-turned-writer and chef who brought French recipes to American cooks. But what happens if one of the two true stories just doesn't deserve equal time?

The trouble with Julie and Julia is, quite simply, that it would be a better as just Julia. Not that I blame anyone for trying to merge these two lives: Powell's original blog and book, which combines her story and Julia's, seem like good fodder for a big-screen adaptation. If anything, the trouble is more a tribute to Meryl Streep, whose big, boisterous Julia Child sweeps onto the screen and demolishes any other story that might try to rise around her. Once you meet her delightful Julia, it's hardly surprising that Julie's story pales in comparison.

Julie and Julia flashes back and forth through time, splitting its time between Julie's 2002 life in a tiny New York apartment and Julia's Parisian life in the late 1940s and early '50s, where a passion for French food led her to learn to cook. To be fair to writer/director Nora Ephron, who put the stories together for film, Julie and Julia's lives do have plenty of parallels: Both are (or have been) secretaries looking for something more to do. Both love food and find solace in cooking. And both are shown in the film pre-fame - before Julia became a household name, before a New York Times story helped turn Julie's blog from a side project into a published book. But that's about where the similarities end. To talk more about it, read more.

It shouldn't be surprising that Streep shines, but I was floored by how much I loved her Julia. Streep herself isn't particularly tall, but as Julia, she takes up the whole screen, towering over her doting husband, Paul (Stanley Tucci). She's dominating and inappropriately loud, but ultimately, she's irresistible. Whether she's whacking away at a lump of dough, gleefully starting a cooking school, or drawing stares from the French when her equally tall and magnetic sister (Jane Lynch, in a brilliant piece of casting) comes to town, she's a joy to watch. She seems to know that any defeat she might suffer - like failing her cooking school final or having her cookbook rejected- is just a speedbump on the way to something bigger. By the end of the film, I wanted to be Julia Child, or at least be her best friend - not necessarily for the cooking (though that would be nice) but for the resilient and loving spirit she brought to life.

The movie's Julie Powell, on the other hand, is harder to love. She's more passive, more concerned with what others think, and more self-deprecating. And more selfish, too - her cooking project nearly ruins her marriage on more than one occasion. Some of the Julie stories work well: her attempts to kill her first lobster or create and eat a disgusting plate of something en gelee get plenty of chuckles. Amy Adams is a good fit for the role, which calls for a tricky blend of vulnerability and anger, and on some level, it's wonderful to see Hollywood embrace a female protagonist who's deeply flawed and deeply stubborn. But she suffers in comparison to Julia, who handles greater obstacles with more grace. In the end, the Julie sequences feel like something to get through so we can hang out with Julia again.

The biggest letdown of Julie and Julia is that we may never get another shot at a glossy, gorgeous, commercial big-screen biopic of Julia Child. From Streep's performance here, I would have gladly bought a ticket to that movie. I'll settle for this one, which certainly has its moments, but that won't stop me from wondering what could have been.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 7/15

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:00:03 -0700

TBS is looking to develop Are We There Yet?, a comedy series based on the Ice Cube movie of the same name. - The Hollywood Reporter
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince scored the biggest midnight gross of all-time in earning $22.2 million as it opened at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. - Variety
Daphne Zuniga will reprise her role as photographer Jo Reynolds for at least two episodes of The CW's reboot of Melrose Place this Fall. - EW
David Arquette and Courteney Cox are confirmed to star in Scream 4. - E! Online
Hugh Jackman is in talks to star in Avon Man, a comedy about a man who is reluctantly recruited into becoming an Avon salesman and then finds that he's good at it. - Variety
Starting with the first episode of the upcoming season, Martha Plimpton will have a role in a multi-episode story line on Grey's Anatomy. - Reuters
Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore will star in writer/director Stanley Tucci's dramedy The Hunter. - ComingSoon
Kathy Griffin will host the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 12, while Russell Brand will return to host the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 13. - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney has acquired film rights to the young adult novel Wings and will develop it as a star vehicle for Miley Cyrus. - ComingSoon

Buzz News Roundup, 1/11

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:35:14 -0800

Reuters reports that the Writers Guild of America has canceled its own awards show, promptly after announcing this year's nominees.
According to ComingSoon, Salma Hayek will play the bearded lady in the horror drama Cirque du Freak, which also stars John C. Reilly.
First Reuben and Taylor, now this: Former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee has also left RCA Records, Billboard reports.
Vanessa Hudgens will star in the coming-of-age dramedy Will, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
Variety reports that Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci are starting a production company together.
Forbes wonders: Why so many save-our-show campaigns these days?
The Hollywood Reporter has new details on Sons of Anarchy, a new FX pilot about motorcycle clubs from an executive producer of The Shield.
Variety reports that Olivia Wilde (who plays 13 on House) will star opposite Jack Black in the Judd Apatow-produced "biblical-era comedy" Year One.
Networks are going overboard to make sure people know they have new shows, writes the Wall Street Journal.

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Buzz News Roundup, 12/10

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:27:05 -0800

The Amazing Race is getting a 13th season, Variety says.
Cary Elwes (a.k.a. Westley in The Princess Bride) has joined the cast of Robert Zemeckis' digital 3-D version of A Christmas Carol, writes ComingSoon.
Stanley Tucci will join Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in the Julia Child movie Julie and Julia, Variety reports.
VH1 has a whole bunch of new reality shows in the pipeline, writes The Hollywood Reporter, including one in which contestants act out the sins of telenovelas and a female version of The White Rapper Show called Miss Rap Supreme.
Paste brings word that free download of Radiohead's In Rainbows expires today.
USA Today reports on the bizarre news that CBS and the New England Patriots are opening a restaurant together.
According to the AP, Led Zeppelin is taking the stage tonight in London for the first time since 1980.

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Stanley Tucci Cast in The Lovely Bones

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:26:26 -0700

Yes, I know I've been paying a tremendous amount of attention to any and all news regarding Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones, but as far as book-to-movie projects go, this one is pretty important to me. So, here's the latest in the long string of casting news: Stanley Tucci is in negotiations to play killer George Harvey in the movie, says Hollywood Reporter.

When I was reading the book, I envisioned someone a little more decrepit, someone much closer to Jackie Earle Haley (who played creepy pedophile Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children). However, Tucci often has a commanding and intimidating presence onscreen (he played Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada, among others), and I can easily see him being super scary. What do you think about this latest bit of Lovely Bones news?

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