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Julie and Julia

Movie Grade: A-

DVD Features Grade: A

Overall Grade: A

Real life adaptations are one style of movie that will almost certainly never go out of style. People are so easily compelled by the “based on a true story” tag that comes along with these dramatizations of real life events. Whether it is about something they remember or something that will inspire them, viewers just can’t get enough of life to film adaptations. This year’s cream of the crop was a tossup between both The Blind Side and Julie & Julia: both of which included a strong female lead – or leads.

Julie & Julia is unique in the fact that it is not “based on a true story,” it is “based on two true stories.” Taking place in post-9/11 New York City and post-World War II France, it is the life changing stories of both Julie Powell (Amy Adams) and Julia Child (Meryl Streep) respectively. The film shows the incredible parallels between the lives of the two women who are separated by both time and space, yet share a deep and unique connection in their love of food. While in France, Julia Child is writing a cookbook; and in her new apartment in Queens, Julie Powell is attempting to cook all the recipes in that very book over a year’s time.

It was an interesting choice to run these two stories side by side, and an even harder feat to do so. Being that the two take place on opposite sides of the world over fifty years apart, it would be a disservice to not note the incredibly similarities drawn between the two characters and their settings. Everything was done with such thought and consideration to the connection between the characters. Even the color scheme of their apartments is very similar, and the placement of windows and furniture around the two creates a sense of closeness between the two.

Though it’s great to have a two disc DVD with a mind boggling number of features to keep you entertained for hours, sometimes just having one in depth feature can do the package well. Julie & Julia is definitely example of that, only consisting of commentary and the feature Secret Ingredients: Creating Julie & Julia. Running approximately a half hour in time, this behind the scene gives detailed looks at all the complex making of the film. Going into specifics about everything mentioned above, as well as the writing process, the real life Julie and Julia, and the actor’s presence on screen.

Even if Julie & Julia doesn’t fit the description of your favorite style of film, it would be ignorant to deny it of all its achievements: not only its critical acclaim and positive public interest, but also the fact that it is genuinely enjoyable. The film has drama and comedy that

are both subtle enough not to impose on the plot of the film, by either making it too serious or not serious enough – it’s just right. The film without a doubt caters more to the women in the audience, but it isn’t something that will kill the men’s sense of masculinity by watching it.

Movie Grade: A-

DVD Features Grade: A

Overall Grade: A