Julie & Julia

Directed by Nora Ephron

Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams

My review: 2½ / 5 stars

I wasn't crazy about the book, but thought the leading ladies were worth going to see. I went into this movie with extremely low expectations; consequently, it was better than I expected. Meryl Streep's Julia Child is pretty convincing. On the flip side, the Julie character is sort of a hateful wench and even Amy Adams' natural charm couldn't overcome it.

If you like food porn, this movie will disappoint you. (Eat Drink Man Woman - now there's a movie that will make you drool.) As with the book, there's just not enough about the food.

Which leads me to what I think is the movie's biggest problem (ditto the book): Julie doesn't see herself as a cook, she sees herself as a writer. She doesn't care nearly as much about the food as she does about her blog. Here, the interests of the creator and the audience diverge. Seeing someone cook onscreen can be interesting; seeing someone write onscreen is decidedly not.