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Oscar®Oscar® Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role
MOVIE REVIEW

Julie and Julia

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for brief strong language and some sensuality.

Reviewed by: Thaisha Geiger
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults Teens
Genre: Biography Comedy Drama
Length: 2 hr. 3 min.
Year of Release: 2009
USA Release: August 7, 2009 (wide—2,300+ theaters)
DVD: December 8, 2009
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Relevant Issues
Copyright, Columbia Pictures

Cooking in the Bible

Food

Featuring Meryl Streep (Julia Child), Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Jane Lynch, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian on “24” TV series), Felicity Jones, Chris Messina, See all »
Director Nora Ephron
“Sleepless in Seattle,” “You've Got Mail,” “Bewitched”
Producer Easy There Tiger Productions, Scott Rudin Productions, John Bernard, Dianne Dreyer, Nora Ephron, Donald J. Lee Jr., Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson, Scott Rudin, J.J. Sacha, Eric Steel, Dana Stevens
Distributor
Distributor: Columbia Pictures. Trademark logo.
Columbia Pictures
, a division of Sony Pictures

“Based on two true stories.”

While the film isn’t stellar, it did help cement one already known fact: Meryl Streep is a classic. Responsible for the film’s charm, Streep delivers a delightful performance as Julia Child, the chef whose “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” revolutionized American cooking. The film also tells the simultaneous true story of Julie Powell (Amy Adams) who, depressed with her dead-end life, decides to embark on a year-long challenge to cook through all 524 recipes of Child’s cookbook while blogging daily of her progress.

Julia Child’s story begins in postwar France in 1949. After she’s introduced to the delicious cuisine of the French culture, she becomes enamored with its exquisiteness. She enrolls into a cooking school and eventually joins forces with two other women to create an American cookbook on French cuisine. For eight years, the women gruel over the recipes’ precisions and finding a publisher. Julie Powell’s story begins in Queens 2002; the majority of her story is her becoming a slave to her kitchen and even jeopardizing her marriage all for the sake of her blog and feelings of self-worth.

The film combined two memoirs: “My Life in France” and “Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously.” I wish the film would have been based entirely on Julia Child. It appears as if director Nora Ephron (“Sleepless in Seattle”) leaned more toward this idea. Being that Child’s film portion had more plot substance, better character development, and ultimately more charm. We could still see her love for her husband (a charming Stanley Tucci), her passion for cooking, and her relentless determination to complete her cookbook.

On the other hand, Julie Powell’s story was quite lackluster, filled with prosaic cooking scenes and meltdowns. While Amy Adams is a splendid actress, she did not have much to work with. Julie is portrayed as a selfish, cloy woman who likes to wallow in her self-created pity. When the time finally comes where her husband gets fed up and leaves, the movie sadly doesn’t delve into this deeply enough, but quickly resolves it and moves along. Perhaps a closer look into their marriage would have strengthened her portion of the story.

Julia Child becomes Julie’s obsession. She repeatedly mentions that Child is who saved her and is all that she has. Even when her marriage is suffering, the thought of quitting her goal is never an option. She was placing all her potential happiness, energy, and effort in such a perishable goal. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'

On a positive note, the husbands were shown to be extremely selfless and patient in the supporting of their wives and their goals. They were an excellent example of Philippians 2:3:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

“Julie & Julia” could have been a completely acceptable film were it not for the profanity. There’s 1 use of the ‘f’ word and about 16 other milder profanities throughout the film; the Lord’s name was profaned about 3 times. Worth mentioning is that there’s kissing between the married couples and one shot of Adams’ back while she’s in a bra.

I do not personally recommend the film. While there are some very funny and charming moments, the rather thin plot was overly extended, resulting in a very long viewing. My advice is to wait for the DVD release.

Violence: None / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Minor

Addendum of reviewer

I normally do not comment on my reviews after their publication, but due to a recent comment felt I should. One commentator left a rather harsh comment, questioning my qualifications to review a movie of this kind since I mentioned little of the food or Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia Child. If one reads the review, he would see that I actually do praise Streep’s acting ability and the true story of the legendary Julia Child.

Most importantly, one should remember that Christian Spotlight is actually an amazing nonprofit ministry that assists Christians in making wise choices of their movie viewings. The commentator is correct, I am not a film critic nor even a food expert. In actuality, I’m a middle-school teacher who is a follower of Christ. I volunteer to review these movies to help other Christians be informed of a movie’s content.

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Some have done this respectfully and even listed an offensive comment Child made while cooking that I forgot to mention. Despite disagreements, Christians should remember when Paul wrote to “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt…”

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, as did the audience with me. We laughed out loud many times, especially at the Julia Child scenes, which were quite clever. I thought the script was very well written—a concise merger of two story lines so deftly done that the switching from the life of Julie, struggling in her Queens kitchen, to that of Julia, working hard in France to learn French cooking and then compile her enormously influential cookbook, was seamless.

Meryl Streep did a spectacular imitation of the quirks of Julia Child’s personality and presence, and Amy Adams was delightful as the morosely obsessed young writer-wanna-be who does in fact enter the world of professional writing as her personal blog becomes well known. The few profanities were unfortunate, but truly minor. I recommend this as good-natured entertainment.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Halyna Barannik, age 63 (USA)
Positive—I would recommend this movie, and I disagree with the reviewer who shouldn’t really be reviewing this movie. This is a movie for foodies, Julia Child fans, and fans of Meryl Streep and since the reviewer mentions very little of these three aspects of the film, I don’t know why they undertook the review. I was inspired by the food and the celebration of this gift of God to us. I was inspired by the motivation the two characters portrayed and how they never gave up.

I became a fan of Julia Child and I thoroughly enjoyed Meryl Streep’s portrayal of her. Absolutely brilliant!!

I did not notice most of the minor profanities except one, and you cannot miss the f-word. But--this isn’t a movie for children, most children would not be interested in this movie and have no idea who Julia Child is. The reviewer mentions Julie says that Julia saved her…please! Julie is an unsaved person with little hope and even her husband immediately says to her, “Don’t go overboard!” Not worth mentioning in the review in my opinion.

Also the reviewer mentions Julie’s husband leaving her…yes, she got caught up in what she was doing, got a little myopic but he didn’t LEAVE leave her, they just got into a short argument and he left for the night. She learned a lesson and things got better. It’s real life. So I loved this movie and am glad I saw it even though it didn’t get a great review. If you are a food fan, a lover of cooking or a Julia or Meryl fan, you’ll like this movie too!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kimberly, age 49 (USA)
u’v
Positive—“Julie & Julia” follows in the footsteps of “No Reservations” and “Ratatouille” in focusing on food. I can’t quite agree with the main review above on the artistic merits of the film. Sure, it has a slow spot here and there, but overall I found myself enjoying it and laughing pretty often. In some ways, the film is as much about writing as it is about cooking; as a writer, I was inspired by both of the main characters and their attempts to get their cookbooks published. Nora Ephron, the director of “Julie & Julia,” was also the director of “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” If you’ve seen either of those films, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this movie, content-wise.

There is some cursing, yes. There was more kissing in this movie than there was in the director’s other films (no explicit sexual content, although there are some innuendos). Her films are pretty comparable, though, even to the point that Julie’s character is a lot like Meg Ryan’s character in “You’ve Got Mail,” with lines of dialog that practically match between the two movies. All in all, “Julie & Julia” is pretty tasty for a modern-day comedy. I don’t normally go for comedies (the majority are too crude), but because I’ve enjoyed other cooking movies and the director’s past work, I gave it a try with my sister. I didn’t regret it. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Whether the real-life Julie and Julia believed in God or not, they’re both an example of what to do when you have a God-given gift. You do it with all your might.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
John Stanifer, age 23 (USA)
Positive—I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I appreciate the reviewer’s hard work, but I have to give the film at a little more support. The reviewer is right on target in pointing out the excellent acting of Meryl Streep, who is at the absolute top of her game. She is a wonderful actress and fun to watch. I brought two jr. high girls and they appreciated the film for portraying plucky women who work hard toward a goal despite setbacks. No disrespect for the reviewer from me… it’s a review, after all, and the free flow of
CONTRIBUTOR

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My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Richard, age 53 (USA)
Positive—I really enjoyed this movie, it was fun to watch and a great story. I’ve seen some criticism of the cinematics but I thought it really was appropriate for the type of movie where they were trying to merge such a large time span. Meryl Streep is always wonderful. Amy Adams was wonderful as well, she was great fun to watch. Not a movie for youth but great for 20-somethings and up. There were a few instances of using s*** and f*** and of course they could have been left out—but profanity was minimal. Some suggestive scenes but they were in appropriate relationships.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Joe, age 61 (USA)
Positive—I loved this movie, and actually saw it twice this week, once with my husband, then with my daughter. The characters were fun, and of course there was food galore! The only disconnect was that the movie characterized Julie as a “b****,” but, fortunately, Amy Adams did not come across that way. All in all, a very fun time!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Alex, age 29 (USA)
Positive—I did not know what to expect in this film after reading the review and the comments. I have wanted to see this movie since I saw the first trailer, so I’d already decided I was going, but I was concerned when I saw that the movie involved profanity and was rated PG-13. The rating is appropriate because of the language and infrequent crude humor. Other than the mild nudity (underwear and a short shirt) and the language, the movie was delightful.

I must acknowledge that the language is historically accurate (according to letters and Julie Powell’s Web site), so I understand why the writer included the language; however, I wish our culture would recognize that the language is offensive. This was a creative, well-presented biography. I appreciated the emphasis on marriage, on fidelity, on supportive spouses, on communication,…

The movie shares healthy marital relationships, unlike many of the movies in theatres today. The movie was fairly accurate, and the cinematography (of Paris—wonderful city!) was terrific. (If you know Paris, you will recognize the Seine, the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in the Latin Quarter, Sacre Coeur, and other Parisian landmarks.) I always grieve through biographies when God is not a part of the story. However, if Jesus was a part of the Powells' or Childs' lives, we don’t know it from this story. From the emphasis on despair and lack of direction, I suspect this is accurate and Christ was not a part of their lives. Don’t take your children to this movie. I’m not sure my 14yo would even appreciate this movie. But if you are a foodie, a history buff, or a Child fan, you should enjoy this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Carie, age 40 (USA)
Positive—I liked this film very much. The acting was superb, especially Meryl Streep’s performance. I, too, thought the cuts between the two women’s lives were done very well. I have heard more than one person say that they wished it was only about Julia Child. I couldn’t disagree more. The two women had a lot of similarities in their lives. Both had government jobs. Both shared a love for cooking. Both had loving, caring and devoted husbands. That should be much appreciated, especially in this world of affairs and divorces. And, yes, even among Christians.

…Why do we Christians expect Hollywood to take out all the profanity. The people in Julie and Julia are not portrayed as Christians, so why do you hold them up to the same standards as a Christian. Non-believers use profane language. Face it. It is reality. …

Now back to the movie. It was a very inspiring story of two women who had a dream and did not give up on that dream. I enjoyed the movie with one exception. When Julie is in her bosses office being coached on how her blog is affecting her job, he says: “If I were a Republican I would have fired you.” I thought this was totally uncalled for. It came out of the clear blue and had no reference in the context of the scene. The only reason I can think of that it is in the film is that the real Julie Powell hates the politics of Republicans. I saw it in her blog. Now, THAT they could have left out. But that’s Hollywood for you. If you go to see this film, go to see film about two very determined women who had a dream and realized that dream.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Bruce, age 51 (USA)
Positive—I read all the reviews here before viewing the film and was very curious about the language issue because everyone seemed to harp on it. I seem to recall a verse: “husbands, love your wives.” I only have one thing to add: the reviewers who are so focused on the language miss the point of the two stories and do not do justice to them. In particular, the main reviewer was incredibly over-critical. Go see the movie and appreciate a husband loving his wife and encouraging her… actually two husbands loving their wives. Go see the movie because Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are so fun to watch.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
AJG, age 41 (USA)
Positive—I must admit that, although I am not a cooking fan and prefer a book to scrambling eggs (or making an omelet :), I do love to eat. And watching all of that delicious looking food on the screen was wonderful (of course it probably helped that I hadn’t eaten dinner). I think this was a delightful, funny, and touching movie about two “Jules,” French cooking, and true love. There is some swearing (including one really surprising and unnecessary F from Stanley Tucci), a few rather risqué comments, and several preludes to sex (but within the context of marriage, for once!), but overall, it was sweet and charming. I enjoyed both portions of the story; Meryl Streep was the bubbly American in love with Paris and Amy Adams was the depressed but determined survivor of Queens and blogger extraordinaire.

I have never seen either actress in anything else (except previews, of course), but they both seemed to do a good job. I enjoyed the movie, I was entertained, and I did not feel that I had wasted my money (although it’s a little on the long side).

The only reason I gave this a 4 and one half is because several minor plots didn’t seem to get resolved: what did Julia and Paul finally decide about where they would live? what finally happened to Louisette? Although we see the effects of these decisions, we do not get to see them get made and after spending so much time focusing on those points, I would have liked to see the resolutions or at least hear them mentioned. Anyway, by all means, if you like to cook (or to eat!), spend the money and see it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Sarah C., age 19 (USA)
Positive—The movie seemed good. It was a one time see though for me. Even though it was entertaining, it’s neither a must see or a re-must see. I think the contributing reviewer gave a pretty good review and got everything pretty much down. I thought it sad though how much Julie stressed on how Julia saved her. I don’t know, I just kept thinking, if only she would let God save her. GOD BLESS!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Maureen O'Hara, age 18 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—What a tremendous shame! If only Nora Efron could have left out the foul language that burned the edges of this beautiful story the audience would have been treated to a well marinaded, slow cooked treat. (sigh!)

The story of Julia Child’s life should most definitely be covered by MANY movies and all should be played by Meryl Streep as Julia! The supporting actors (Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Jane Lynch, Mary Lynn Rajskub—I don’t know who played her sister, but I loved that character!!) wonderfully decorated the scenery of this amazing woman’s life, love and culinary escapades. While the reviewer didn’t like Amy Adam’s character, Julie as a “cloy,” shallow drama queen, who has cooking meltdowns—I would say that that was the point; Julie had nothing until she met Julia (I think that’s a quote, but it might just be a paraphrase). The point was to showcase Julia Child, even to the very end of this movie, both Julie and the movie do just that.

An aside—I wonder if Julie’s character had been more developed, would the sheer joy of Julia Child’s character have gotten a bit lost. This was also an amazing love story; Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, who’d a thunk it could work—but oh, boy does it!!

I say again what a tremendous shame—this beautiful story was left in the oven of a filthy mouth too long and burned. There is not much foul language, but a few are doozies. The reviewer left out the one that I found most offensive—where Julia picks up a hot manicotti noodle, looks over at her husband and says “It feels like a hot c*ck!” This is then repeated by him and then again, by Julie’s husband. While this may have been Julia Child’s humor—it sullied this very sweet portrayal of Julia’s husband describing the joy he had in watching her cook and being her husband—which was otherwise very apparent throughout the movie.

For this reason I (very sadly) cannot recommend this movie to Christian theater going audiences. If you can wait ‘til this comes out on DVD and use a player that erases foul language, you’ll be able to enjoy this very sweet story that has great food, sweet (marital) romance, and belly laughs—unabashedly!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Annie L, age 42 (USA)
Neutral—There were a couple of funny LOL moments but on the whole, I was bored throughout the way too long film. Other than the 1 f-word the other profanities are common place these days on prime-time TV. I don’t think children would enjoy it all. But it might make you hungry.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Bobbie, age 68 (USA)
Neutral—My main reason for commenting is that I disagree with the comments that downplay the part of the film dealing with Julie—the weaving together of the two stories is what makes this film work. Even though Meryl Streep does a good job playing Julia, a biographical movie based just on her life would have been boring and trite. The same can be said about Julie’s experiences. The most positive aspect of this film was the way both husbands supported their wives—if the movie had only been about Julia, then the viewer could have come away feeling that husbands used to be that way, but not any longer. With Julie’s story being played out, the viewer can see that husbands in the 21st century, as well as in the 20th, can and should be supportive of their wives. Another aspect that makes me believe that the storyline dealing with Julie is important is that the most noble point in the movie deals with her correct choice towards the end of the movie. I was also very disappointed with Julia’s response to Julie’s project.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Carolina, age 52 (Ecuador)
Neutral—I watched this movie with my wife, because she loves to cook and I nostalgically remembered Julia Child from PBS. I fully expected the SNL skit on her and it was still funny. The story concerning Julia was much more interesting than Julie’s. In fact, I wished there were more time spent on Julia’s life, but then there was the caveat of "careful what you wish for". A pleasing film, but the reference to a vegetable reminding Julia of sexual arousal and the use of some low level profanity were not necessary for the story and the final use of the “F” word was completely pointless other than to earn the PG-13 rating, I’m sure. I have to admit, while I am not the one swearing or saying these lines, it does make a believer question whether they should partake of these movies at all. After all didn’t Jesus say, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3)?

I have to concur with some of the viewers who ask how other believers can justify seeing films that curse God and Christ and use foul language can ever be rated "Positive". Are we guilty of calling what is evil good, just so we can justify watching it?
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Steve, age 53 (USA)
Neutral—I watched this with my 10 year old daughter (who adores cooking) using Clearplay to filter unwanted content. With the bad language and sexual references/scenes skipped, it was a delightful film! It’s regretable some comments here included explicit quotes (albeit with *'s)—I would have preferred not to know what was bleeped out of my version (that’s the whole point).

Anyway, my daughter liked all the food related scenes of course (me, too), and I enjoyed seeing the Julie/Julia parallel lives unfold. I’m only mildly familiar with Julia Child, but familiar enough to be absolutely tickled to watch Meryl Streep’s likeness of her. Julia’s positive attitude about life, especially when challenges arose, is inspiring. Also appreciated that both characters were happily married. I would have rated it Positive, 4 stars, and Better Than Average if the actual movie were the cleaned up version I watched.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Lori, age 45 (USA)
Neutral—My family saw this movie at a friend’s house, and overall we enjoyed it more than we thought we would, given the rating. Meryl Streep is excellent in her portrayal of Julia Child, and the relationship between Julia and her husband was touching…and refreshing. Even the modern couple—Julie and Eric Powell—had a good relationship; a rarity in this day and age. Eric encourages Julie in her goal to cook through Julia Child’s book, is patient with her during her meltdowns, and it’s clear he truly loves her. Even when they fight and he leaves for a time, their love for each other wins out, and they are reunited. Julia also receives support from the friends she makes while trying to write and publish her cookbook. Both women persevere in their goals and are rewarded by success.

However, while the basic story is enjoyable—and even laugh-out-loud funny at times!—it seemed like the film makers dropped it in a cesspool before it hit the theaters. Foul language (including Julia’s husband going totally out-of-character and blurting out the F-word) and frequent sexual innuendos (including a back-shot of Julie in her underwear) create a dark blot on an otherwise uplifting movie. Another thing that stuck out was Julie’s comment that Julia “saved” her. This seemed inappropriate, since Christ is the only One Who can truly save anyone.

I know it’s a little ridiculous to expect Hollywood to come up to Christian standards, and I realize that this is how some unsaved people behave…but it would have been nice if they had cleaned up the dialogue anyway.

I would not recommend this movie to anyone with young children—the plot will go over their heads and bore them, and who wants their kids hearing such filthy language anyway? It is truly and adult movie. Use your God-given discernment to determine whether it’s worth filtering out the garbage to enjoy the good, funny and even beautiful parts of this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Rebekah G., age 25 (USA)
Negative
Negative—We thought this would be one of those “feel good” movies—but when it was over—we felt anything but. Aside from the cursing…there was an obvious effort to try to indoctrinate the viewer into going along with the writer’s belief that Senator McCarthy was bad—this was brought up so much during the movie—we started thinking "alright already!"—every time they mentioned it. A lot of things wrong today Senator McCarthy predicted and tried to prevent!!!… Also—in one scene "Julie’s" boss said, "If I were a Republican, I would have fired you." This movie seemed to have more to do about bashing conservative politics than actual cooking! Meryl Streep was brillant, as she always is—but I would have chosen someone other than Amy Adams to play Julie. Also—when we had to watch the actor that played her husband eat—it made us nauseous… closed mouth when chewing please!!! It seemed like a half done project and I’m glad we only rented it for $1.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Paulette, age 45 (USA)
Comments from young people
Neutral—I saw this movie with my friends and my little sister and her friend who both are 10 years old… I loved the setting and what was taking place in this film, but there were a couple of scenes that were offensive, and I hoped that some of the things they said went over my sister and her friends head, but I doubt it. The bad scenes (setting the mood for sex) in this movie were not needed at all, I thought it would’ve been a cute movie without the unneeded things taking place.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Briz, age 13 (USA)
Neutral—I wasn’t expecting “Julie & Julia” to be a great film but it didn’t live up to my expectations. The acting was good (especially Meryl Streep’s performance) but it was lacking in an actual interesting story. I thought the movie was entertaining for the first half of the movie but in the second half of the movie I began to lose my interest. Is there anything offensive in this movie? Well there is one use of the F-bomb and a few other minor cuss words and their about three or four implied sex scenes. But I think there was anything else offensive in the movie.

Does this movie relate to any Christian Themes? Well perseverance, but that’s about it. Would I recommend this movie to anyone? Well, no. The story wasn’t very good and it wasn’t that engaging in the last half of the movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Langston, age 12 (USA)