I read Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, about a month ago and completely fell in love with her. This lead to episodes of ‘The French Chef’ arriving in my mailbox (almost) daily from Netflix, watching WGBH’s biography of JC and copies of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vols. 1 and 2 lovingly placed among my cookbook collection.
Knowing that the movie would be coming out soon, I picked up Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. And to my unfortunate surprise, I hated it. I felt that Julie filled the book with random stories about her friends and went on a Conservative-bashing spree. Oh, she talked about food alright… almost as an afterthought – once in a while, throwing in an experience with Julia’s thorough recipes.
This didn’t set me back, though. I had a strong feeling that the movie would be really good and couldn’t wait for it to come out. I love Meryl Streep and Amy Adams is just adorable. So, imagine my excitement when I won advance screening tickets from Bakespace.com! I was one of 5 Dallas-area foodies to win and last night, at Studio Movie Grill, we sat down to view it. I won’t spoil it for you (if you’ve read either book, you’ll know what happens), but I’ll just say that my suspicions were correct… ‘Julie & Julia’ was great and I’ll definitely see it again.
Thanks again to Bakespace.com and especially, Babette!! Check out JulieAndJulia.com for trailers and stills – it arrives in theaters August 7th!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I just read an article about the movie in Vogue magazine.
According to the article, Childs was not a fan of Powell. So you are not alone.
Share your thoughts when you see the movie.
I am so behind the times. I haven’t watched any of my recorded On Demand movies yet (let alone going to the theaters). Bah.
First I’m so jealous you got to see the movie early. I can’t wait to see it! I actually liked the book, but I had a friend that didn’t care for it either.
You know, I have read My Life In France too – and in anticipation of the movie, I picked up J&J. I am finding it sooooo difficult to get into. It’s nothing like I thought it would be. I thought maybe it was just me, but you’ve validated my feelings!
I’m still going to see the movie, though.
I m really eager to watch this movie
I am so glad the movie is fun. I am really looking forward to it.
I enjoyed the book and read Julie’s blog.
I’m so jealous that you got to see the movie already
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I tried to read J&J about a year ago and had trouble getting into it so you’re not alone. Sounds like I need to pick up My Life in France!
What a treat to see the movie before it comes out in theaters. I’m really excited to see this movie. It’s the perfect movie for us foodies!!
I was lucky too and got 2 free tickets for a preview screening from a friend. Two girlfriends and I went to see it. It was so much fun. We laughed so hard. Will definitely watch it again once it comes out on DVD.
I am currently reading the book, and I think it is ok, but not fabulous. I am so glad to see that the movie is better though!
Congratulations on winning tickets to the film. I’m going tomorrow to see it. I read both books-loved My Life in France, but like you, not too crazy about the Julie-Julia book.