"Bon appetit!"

Recently, my friend Brad lent me a handful of DVDs to brighten my mood. They included old movie classics like Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Young Frankenstein, and Mamma Mia. My favorite among them was Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Stanley Tucci. The movie traces the parallel lives of two women (Julia Child and Julie Powell) whose lives revolve around food and cooking. Meryl plays the part of renowned chef, cookbook writer, and TV phenomenon Julia Childs. Amy plays the part of a frustrated office worker, housewife, and fledgling writer whose admiration of Julia prompts her to write a blog in which she composes 425 Child recipes in 365 days.

The film follows Julia as she enrolls in and graduates from the famous Parisian school for French chefs, Le Cordon Bleu, in order to infuse her life with new sparkle and meaning. Eventually, she not only co-publishes her own cookbook, but also becomes a TV celebrity who introduces Americans to French cooking. In the meantime, Julie contends with her challenging job and not-always-supportive husband to not only complete her blog, but also try out each recipe for her husband and friends. As her confidence grows, she becomes successful as both chef and writer. Eventually, her blog becomes one of the most successful online.

I really enjoyed this movie on multiple levels. First of all, I loved the fine acting of Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Stanley Tucci, all of whom made up a fine ensemble cast. Since I love to cook, I enjoyed watching the cooking scenes. One that stands out is the one in which Julia, who is attending Le Cordon Bleu, chops down a veritable mountain of raw onions when her husband walks in and bursts into tears. Another shows Julie letting her boeuf-bourgignon dish burn up the first time she tries making it. That scene made me think of my dad who was quite a good chef himself. I remember the time he taught me how to make that dish and we worked on it together. It is one of my favorites.

Another feature I liked about the movie was its often humorous take on blogging. At the time the film came out in the early 2000s, blogging was still a relatively new concept. I liked the fact that Julie didn't give up writing, even when, at the beginning, her mom was the only one reading her blogs. Her blogging not only paid off, but eventually became one of the most popular online. I thought that it was also neat that Julie eventually pursued a career as a writer, and that a movie was made of her experience.