It’s a funny thing about life; even though we’re all (obstensibly) unique, certain experiences fall into distinct patterns. Most middle-class children in the western world, for instance, go through a period in their childhood where the world revolves around them, followed by a period in their teenage years where they’re convinced it should and are surprised when it doesn’t. This leads to a period of intense self-reflection, during which they discover their place in the world and are shocked again some years later when that place doesn’t welcome them with open arms either.

In Julie & Julia, Amy Adams’ character, Julie Powell, is in that directionless place between shock and reaction when she decides to give herself one year to cook all 524 recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and if you’re in the same place, or recently past it, you’ll probably identify with her.

Another stage many adults find themselves in, and which people of Julie’s age hope to avoid, is that of the middle-aged, middle-class (or upper-middle-class) person who suddenly realizes they haven’t accomplished anything. Sure they’ve survived, but they still don’t recognize their place in the world, nor have they experienced anything they could call a “dream.”

Julia Child (Meryl Streep) has reached this stage when we meet her. A virgin until 40, lucky enough to marry a U.S. diplomat while working as a secretary, she found herself living in France unsure of the direction she wanted her life to go. In the movie, she tries her hand at bridge and hatmaking, but ultimately settles on cooking, as we all know. And what a cook she became!

It must be said: this is a delicious-looking movie. Recipes for crunchy bruschetta, sauteed mushrooms, raspberry cream, breaded duck, stuffed chicken breast, and braised fish, among others, are lovingly depicted, most of them perfectly caramelized and nearly all of them fried in butter. You might expect the sort of Crisco and shellack-based tricks used by the advertising industry, but no: it’s all real food, something writer/director Nora Ephron, apparently an accomplished cook, insisted on. (And this is a director who, when she couldn’t find a rustic enough 18th-century British cottage in The Holiday, ordered one custom-built from scratch – so you know she got her way.)

The problem with Julie & Julia is that while Julia’s story is engaging no matter what your age, if, like many older viewers, you passed Julie’s stage a decade or more ago there’s a good chance you’ll be turned off by her. Streep plays Julia Child as a genuine character, a gregarious Amazon with a warm smile, an easy laugh, and an American accent that never quite sounds like it came from anywhere, while Adams’ Powell frequently burns her food, screams at her husband, alienates her friends, yells at her cat and cries in her kitchen until you expect her husband to come in, burp her, kiss her hand, and make it all better – and that’s more or less what happens (minus the burping).

This isn’t Adams’ fault, exactly – Child was a genuine character with a warm smile, easy laugh, etc. who got past the directionless stage, recognizing that after discovering her place in the world she would have to fight for it, while Powell occasionally comes off as a self-indulgent narcissist who, in the primitive blogging world of 2002, simply whined loudly enough for her voice to be heard.

It may not sound like I enjoyed the movie, but I did – I was engaged by Adams’ side of the story, despite the fact that she and her husband (Chris Messina)’s arguments came off as obligatory beats in a bad romantic comedy. (Streep and Stanley Tucci, who plays Julia’s husband, Paul, on the other hand, have what would have been the sweetest onscreen relationship I’d seen in ages had I not seen Away We Go two months ago.)

Basically, unless you’re a foodie, or passing through one of Julie or Julia’s life stages, or a fan of Meryl Streep and/or Amy Adams, there isn’t much here that will interest you.

But that’s okay. Just because certain life stages fall into patterns doesn’t mean everyone experiences – or gets past – them.

Related posts:

1. Julia Roberts To Star In Movie About Knitting
2. Julie Andrews Gets Life Achievement Award
3. Chicago Names Day After Julie Andrews

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