# Just Got Back From Julie and Julia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526 "2009-07-28T06:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/21 "2009-08-09T02:18:05Z")
I read the book last week, and it hardly had any Julia Child in it at all - how much Streep is there in this movie, and what did they do to add more Julia Child to the story? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/22 "2009-08-09T02:28:15Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > So you really liked Amy Adams’s character? She seemed really whiny and unpleasant to me. There was also a scene at the end that a friend I saw it with pointed out to me. You see the years of work that Child went through to write the cookbook. She learns how to cook in spite of the woman at the school hating her, she has to deal with her husband being reassigned all over the place, her one collaborator slacks off on her, the one publishing house rejects the book as too long and encyclopedic, and so on, until finally in the end, a publisher accepts the book, and she’s Made It. > > Julie Powell, on the other hand, writes a blog, and she ends up getting swamped by all these offers by publishers and TV networks. The contrast just bothers me some. I’ll grant that, unless she does something really extraordinary during the rest of her life, Julia Child was a far better person than Julie Powell is or will ever be. But, I have to admire Julie Powell’s determination to finish this thing she started, and ability to recognize the brilliance of Julia Child’s achievement. I like both characters, but then I have liked Julia Child ever since her show was in it’s first run on my local PBS station. I’m not going to knock Julie Powell for not being Julia Child. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/23 "2009-08-09T02:39:38Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I read the book last week, and it hardly had any Julia Child in it at all - how much Streep is there in this movie, and what did they do to add more Julia Child to the story? It’s about half and half. To add more Julia Child to the story, they combined Julie Powell’s book with Julia Child’s autobiography “My Life in France”. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/24 "2009-08-09T02:43:15Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m not going to knock Julie Powell for not being Julia Child. Well, neither will I. But it’s like the review of the movie that said about the character, “[Julie Powell] doesn’t act like she wants to be Julia Child, she acts like she wants to be the main character in a Nora Ephron movie”. She’s rotten to her husband, doesn’t care about her job, and whines a lot about how hard what she’s doing is. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/25 "2009-08-09T03:35:58Z")
I’m looking forward to the film. I’ve read both books, and I did tell my husband that I wished the movie was based upon “My Life in France”, rather than “Julie and Julia”. The reviews seem to have borne this opinion out. December for DVD release??? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/26 "2009-08-09T03:49:23Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > She’s rotten to her husband, doesn’t care about her job, and whines a lot about how hard what she’s doing is. Mick LaSalle of the SF Chronicle liked the film, but [agreed with you entirely](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/07/MVF4194BV6.DTL). ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/27 "2009-08-09T05:03:01Z")
I read the book, and the book just seemed to be trying to hard to be pretenious hipster 30something. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/28 "2009-08-09T17:59:03Z")
I saw it last night. Great flick! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/29 "2009-08-09T19:00:36Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > My prediction is that Streep wins best actress and Nora Ephron wins best adapted screenplay. Haven’t seen the film and, after a quarter-century of Academy losses, I certainly wouldn’t mind Meryl winning another Oscar, but please God not for this movie. I’m officially sick and tired of people winning for playing real people; it’s been an epidemic in the last decade or so and I really hope to see an end to it quickly. And no way does the film win Adapted Screenplay. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/30 "2009-08-10T00:05:25Z")
Saw the movie and enjoyed it well enough. After ten minutes or so I had completely forgotten that it was Meryl playing Julia Child. It wasn’t just someone doing an impersonation, she added real depth to the character. Her chemistry with Stanley Tucci was terrific as well… My only real problem was that I had no use at all for the Julie character. I got nothing from that at all and I found myself waiting for the Julie shit to be over just so I could get back to Julia - which was really strong stuff. Overall worthwhile, though. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/31 "2009-08-19T11:39:42Z")
I agree, the Julia C stuff was fantastic and the Julie character was a whiny, annoying bitch. I sort of hoped that she WOULDN’T finish her project (although I knew she did), perhaps she’d learn something and grow instead of just whinging. I don’t understand why she and her husband didn’t both add about a zillion pounds. We had been warned, and I pass this on to others, only to see the movie AFTER you’ve had a nice, good, filling meal. Do NOT see the movie on an empty stomach. The cooking induces instant salivation. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/32 "2009-08-19T12:09:56Z")
The movie did not inspire me to go home and cook or to go out to eat–it aroused a (latent) lust in me to move to France and have someone cook for me! I much preferred the Julia Child bits of this movie–the contrast between Julia’s generation (just getting on with things, working hard and persisting until success comes despite setbacks etc) and Julie’s (trying things on a whim, narcissism and whining their way through life) was stark and revealing. I had read the book some time ago and felt differently about the whole concept, so perhaps it’s the adaptation that is weak? I liked the actor playing Julie (and her husband was a saint), but Streep is so wonderful in the role–the meshing of the “two sides” of this film doesn’t really work for me. Couple things: I thought some details were badly handled. It was bittersweet to hear that Julia’s sister was pregnant, but we never hear any more. Julie’s mother comes across as a psychotic bitch (and may well be one–I don’t recall that from the book), but Julie would have been made a stronger character if she had stood up to her, as Julia did to her father. The whole “Julia hates me” is weird–I thought so in the book as well. Some reflection on it on Julie’s part would have been welcome–like, maybe Ms Child is old and tired and doesn’t appreciate her life’s work being treated as therapy for a bored and feckless woman. Perhaps if Julie had looked deeper into WHY she felt compelled to cook her way through the book and what she learned from it (besides that she treated her husband like shit), her character might have had more depth. I got tired of her temper tantrums. I’d see it again on DVD, for the Julia parts. I loved the hats and outfits and the way women got around their assigned roles in such sly ways back then. Too bad they didn’t make a movie about Child’s life. I also longed to see Julia’s reaction to Dan Ackroyd’s “portrayal” of her–IMS, she loved it back in the day. Last thing: I doubt that Child was put off by the vulgarity of Julie’s blog–her letters to her husband show a certain bawdiness. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/33 "2009-08-20T02:09:23Z")
Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who preferred the Julie parts. Yes, the Julia Child parts were interesting and seeing her create the book was engaging, but I was really enthralled by Julie finishing her project. I thought Amy Adams was fantastic and indicated, pretty well, the frustrations in trying some a time pressure project. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve never seen Julia Child on TV or have these warm feelings for her based on that. Or that I just absolutely adore Amy Adams? Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/34 "2009-08-20T16:11:33Z")
Julia had a few ideosyncracies-she didn’t want black children in her neighborhood (Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA). Around 1984, a guy applied for a license to open a day care center near her(Julia Child’s) house-she promptly signed a petition (also signed by Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe) opposing the center… a bit odd, since both were professed liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/35 "2009-08-20T16:37:00Z")
It was a school, not a day care center…the Commonwealth Day School, which was a private primarily for inner city Boston kids (and which would have been like 90% black). The official reason for the petition was that all the children and traffic would be disruptive to the character of the neighborhood, but in that there were other schools nearby, a lot of people have assumed a racial motivation. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/36 "2009-08-20T17:59:51Z")
Saw this last weekend. My take was that it was good, but I’d have rather seen a two-hour biopic of Julia Child. The Julie angle was okay, but ultimately not very interesting and felt a little too “made for movie.” I wanted to see more of Child, especially since the movie didn’t even touch on her TV career. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/37 "2009-08-20T19:55:24Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I saw it yesterday, and honestly, I thought Amy Adams’s character was whiny and annoying. I liked the Julia Child segments…they were fun and Meryl Streep did a good Julia Child, but I just wanted to slap Amy Adams. I hated the woman. > > There was also no real conflict in the entire movie. God, I hated that bitch Julie. [spoiler] She alienates a perfectly good husband, he comes back, and she’s back to her old ways. I agree about the conflict too–usually I’m torn about leaving to go pee, and try never to have to, but halfway through, I’m thinking there’s no conflict at all, what will I miss besides more of the same? The men were cyphers too–I have to think that the Julia Child and husband that’s presented is the one Julie read about, as mentioned above, because they seemed too good to be true.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/38 "2009-09-01T12:33:29Z")
Saw it last night and liked it a lot. > [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > … You see the years of work that Child went through to write the cookbook. … Julie Powell, on the other hand, writes a blog, and she ends up getting swamped by all these offers by publishers and TV networks. The contrast just bothers me some. Good point. Didn’t notice that – but, yeah. Definitely says a lot about how much – and in what ways – society has changed in the last 50 years. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > Couple things: I thought some details were badly handled. It was bittersweet to hear that Julia’s sister was pregnant, but we never hear any more. Julie’s mother comes across as a psychotic bitch (and may well be one–I don’t recall that from the book), but Julie would have been made a stronger character if she had stood up to her, as Julia did to her father. 1. There was nothing more to the sister-being-pregnant plot point than showing how sad Julia was that she couldn’t have kids. Following up on the sister would have been a total hijack. 2) I didn’t think the mother was psychotic at all – kind of a PITA, but no more or less than anyone’s mother. Psychotic? Yikes. How so? > [@eleanorigby](#): > > The whole “Julia hates me” is weird–I thought so in the book as well. Some reflection on it on Julie’s part would have been welcome … Perhaps if Julie had looked deeper into WHY she felt compelled to cook her way through the book and what she learned from it (besides that she treated her husband like shit), her character might have had more depth. I got tired of her temper tantrums. To me, the point of the character was precisely that she was so un-self-reflective and entitled. If she had been the type to look more deeply into herself, she probably wouldn’t have handled her existential snit in such a prototypically 21st-century way. Again, part of the contrast between the two J’s that make it clear why Julia Child was such a great old broad. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/39 "2009-09-01T15:13:14Z")
I really liked the movie, but a couple of things bothered me, mostly what has been mentioned already - but I was really bothered by the dropping of issues: - the already mentioned childlessness. - the explanation of the “Julia hates me”. No one asked why? and the big one - I really wanted to see Julia start her cooking show, and the challenges associated with it. The other thing I was dissapointed in was the politics. I know this is an Nora Ephron film, so she has to inject her politics into everything (like Julie’s boss saying “a republican would have fired you” where the hell did that come from?) But a significant amount of screen time was dedicated to the Child’s battle with - DUN DUN DUN - McCarthyism. It all came down to her husband being called to Washington for a day, being cleared, and then going back to work until retirement. I think we were supposed to believe that the Child’s were punished somehow, but all that was shown is that they got a new posting to the south of France (oh, the humanity). He was a civil servant in the diplomatic corp that got reposted occasionally until he voluntarily retired. I expected something to come from it that never did. It all just seemed like Nora just wanted to add politics in wherever and whenever she can - and make her hero Julia Childs some kind of political hero, despite there being nothing there. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526/40 "2009-09-01T17:59:43Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > The other thing I was dissapointed in was the politics. I know this is an Nora Ephron film, so she has to inject her politics into everything (like Julie’s boss saying “a republican would have fired you” where the hell did that come from?) But a significant amount of screen time was dedicated to the Child’s battle with - DUN DUN DUN - McCarthyism. It all came down to her husband being called to Washington for a day, being cleared, and then going back to work until retirement. I think we were supposed to believe that the Child’s were punished somehow, but all that was shown is that they got a new posting to the south of France (oh, the humanity). He was a civil servant in the diplomatic corp that got reposted occasionally until he voluntarily retired. I expected something to come from it that never did. It all just seemed like Nora just wanted to add politics in wherever and whenever she can - and make her hero Julia Childs some kind of political hero, despite there being nothing there. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ve read the book, and the Republican bashing is _everywhere_ in it. That was seriously the one major hate I had about the book. Look, lady, even if I agree with you, _shut up with the stupid, petty random drive-by bashings!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-back-from-julie-and-julia/504526.md?page=3)