Blu-Ray Review: ‘Julie & Julia’ an Appetizer in Need of a Main Course

CHICAGO – 2009 has been a year of supremely underwhelming biopics, primarily because Hollywood has bent over backwards to make them marketable. You’d think that the idea of Meryl Streep playing Julia Child, or Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela, or uncanny newcomer Christian McKay playing Orson Welles would be enough to sell a picture.

But each of these great actors and their respective characters are reduced to supporting roles in their own films, in favor of more commercially viable subjects, such as a hip blogger, a rugby game and Zac Efron. It’s infuriating to see such talent and potential go to waste.

DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0

“Julie & Julia” is the latest effort from the reigning queen of benignity, Nora Ephron. She seems incapable of writing any movie without including a cheerfully prosaic protagonist straight out of a mid-90s’ Meg Ryan vehicle. One can only imagine what Julia Child would’ve thought about her big screen biopic being shared with the story of blogger-turned-writer Julie Powell. Though the film is technically based on both women’s memoirs, Child’s story eventually lands on the back burner, while Ephron places her central dramatic tension on Powell’s audacious, if unexceptional, mission. While Child wrote the first English language cookbook of French cuisine, Powell set out to cook all of the book’s recipes (524, to be exact) in a single year…while blogging about it.

& Julia." title="Meryl Streep channels the heart of Julia Child in Julie & Julia.">
Meryl Streep channels the heart of Julia Child in Julie & Julia.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Though her lack of screen time may cost her a well-deserved third Oscar win, Streep single-handedly makes the picture worth seeing. She reportedly based this role on her own mother, who was also blessed with great “joie de vivre.” Once again, Streep makes acting seem as effortless as breathing, and doesn’t play Child so much as channel her spirit, which was so towering and vivacious that even an IMAX screen couldn’t adequately contain it. To her credit, Ephron successfully utilizes every trick in the cinematic handbook to convince audiences that the 5’ 6” Streep is as tall as the 6’ 2” Child. And I can’t think of anyone better to play Child’s adoring, devoted husband than Streep’s “Devil Wears Prada” co-star Stanley Tucci (whose own foodie film, “Big Night,” is far more palatable than this synthetic soufflé).

& Julia was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 8th, 2009." title="Julie & Julia was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 8th, 2009."> Julie & Julia was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 8th, 2009. Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

As Powell, Amy Adams does what she can with her whiny, unsympathetic role, though her refusal to soften the character just makes her more unbearable. But she is far more likable than her husband (Chris Messina), who’s the kind of guy who would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to a film like “Julie & Julia.” He has no real interest in his wife’s goals, and scarfs down her carefully prepared delicacies with all the etiquette of a ravenous pig. Ephron is obviously in her comfort zone during this half of the picture, as she allows Powell to read her blogs out loud in the exact same cutesy voice Meg Ryan used to read her emails in “You’ve Got Mail.” This section of the movie might as well be named, “You’ve Got Comments.”

Child was not a fan of Powell’s blog, a fact the filmmaker discusses in her audio commentary. Ephron openly disagrees with Child’s criticism that Powell wasn’t a “serious cook,” and argues that you don’t have to be a serious cook in order to benefit from Child’s work. That may be true, but it doesn’t make Powell’s story worthy of inclusion in this film. Child’s story is inspiring and empowering enough.

“Julie & Julia” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio), which brings mouthwatering clarity to each of Child’s dishes. It is accompanied by English and French audio tracks, and includes a variety of exclusive Blu-ray extras. Columbia’s BD-Live feature, “movieIQ,” allows Child’s original recipes to pop up during the film (viewers can collect and email them). There’s also lengthy reminiscences from Child’s family and friends, a tour through her kitchen, and five cooking lessons from various world-renowned chefs. Sadly, only two of them involve Child, who is hunched-over and relatively inactive (this disc is sorely in need of more Child footage).

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com