Let’s set the scene: it’s 2:34 AM on a Thursday, and you’re three weeks into a terrible slump, scrolling on Netflix looking for something to watch other than the 3 sitcoms you juggle between. Delhi Crime? No. The Good Doctor? Pass. Dahmer? No, thank you! You need something joyous, something that revives you. Then you hear her iconic, melodious voice, somewhat pompous in the word’s best sense. “Every morning, the alarm goes off at 6:30, and I leap out of bed. (I’m up!).” Yes, Julie&Julia it is.
With Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the lead, the American historical comedy-drama Julie&Julia was written and directed by Nora Ephron in 2009. The movie contrasts the early years of Julia Child’s culinary career with those of young New Yorker Julie Powell, who wants to prepare all 524 of Child’s cookbook’s recipes in 365 days. Powell wrote about this challenge on her well-read blog, which helped her become a published author.
Julia Child (Streep), a writer, is overjoyed to be in Paris when she and her diplomat husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) get there. This middle-aged Smith graduate, who served in the U.S. government security service during World War II, still hasn’t discovered her vocation. She tries out a few different hobbies, all of which are written about to her dear pen pal Avis. Ultimately, she enrols at Le Cordon Bleu, a top French cooking school where all the pupils are obnoxious men. Although the snobbish head of the school treats Julia poorly and despises her because she is American, Julia does graduate. Soon, she would also work with Louisette Bertholle (Helen Carey) and Simone Beck (Linda Emond), who run a cooking school. They ask her to work with them on a ground-breaking project that will introduce French cooking to Americans. Julia has to overcome numerous obstacles as she writes and attempts to find a publisher for this enormous cookbook throughout the years.
In the second plot, the year is 2002. In Queens, Julie Powell (Adams) resides in a “shabby” apartment. She is approaching her 30th birthday and is unhappy with her tendency to start things but never finish them, which she chalks up to ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). After failing to find a publisher for her debut book, this driven young woman makes the decision to embark on preparing all 524 of the dishes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961), a cookbook for the “servantless American cook”. She endeavours to finish in 365 days while blogging about her experiences. Julie must labour in the kitchen at night because she works full-time for the government as a call centre agent for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Her devoted husband, Eric (Chris Messina), who provides emotional support when his wife collapses under the harrowing weight of a daily deadline, must exercise considerable patience and collaboration in this situation. Julie’s unwavering adherence to Julia Child’s spirit and her motivational example of finding joy in fusing cooking and writing allows her to maintain her excitement.
Enthusiastic people brighten both their own lives and those around them. They can dedicate everything they have to work at hand because of a particular type of spiritual energy. Julie&Julia is a delightful film about two women, one living in 1950s Paris and the other in modern-day Queens, New York, separated by decades and distance, but both driven by a love of food and cooking. They both work as writers in this movie with parallel storylines; one is writing what would come to be a well-known cookbook, and the other is a blogger. The spiritual practice of excitement, which permeates all they do, is the most intriguing thing they all have in common.
It’s around 4 AM, and you shut down your laptop, take a deep breath, and drift off to sleep with a faint smile. Thanks to Julie&Julia, you’re urged to keep going; you’re coming back to life, looking forward to the day ahead. Streep’s voice (or Julia’s?) rings in your ear, “Bon appetit!”