Meryl Streep has a reputation for "devouring" the younger actresses that she co-stars with (Anne Hathway in "Devil Wears Prada", Amanda Seyfried in "Mamma Mia!"), which is why Amy Adams, who worked with Streep in "Doubt" should feel somewhat lucky, because she never has to share the screen with her, giving her some distance from Streep's lively portrayal of Julia Child. As Julie Powell, Adams, who ran the risk of being saddled with an incredibly inferior half of the film, manages to rise above the less colorful material. So while she may not match Streep's work in the film, she does elevate her segments into something far above "bland" or "forgettable".
The film opens with parallel movings. Child and husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) are just arriving in Paris, and Powell and husband Eric (Chris Messina) are arriving at their apartment in Queens, situated over a pizzeria. From here, we see both women's lives unfold, albeit over drastically different periods of time, as Julia rises to become the famous chef who co-wrote "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", and in 2002, Julie attempts to cook and blog her way through all of that book's recipes over the course of a year. Not surprisingly, Streep's performance is uncanny. In addition to growing seven inches for the role (kidding) she nails Child's voice, with it's semi-musical pitch changes and emphasis on the last word ("I need something to doooooooooooooo!"). Obviously Adams has a bit more room, seeing as Powell isn't nearly as documented, or has any significant distinguishing traits. And despite my fears from the trailer, Adams succeeds in making this a deeper, less naive role than some of her past ones ("Junebug", "Enchanted"). For once, there's no wide-eyed innocent staring or adorable accent; here, she's just a working woman who wants to "finally finish something that [she] starts". Unlike her scenes in "Enchanted", when Adams is sad, the emotions are grounded more in reality; the role may not be super gritty, but this is still a far cry from any delightfully naive princess/nun roles.
As for Streep, there's not to much to say. Outside of nailing Child's mannerisms, she take the role beyond caricature. To highlight this, there is a scene where Julie and Eric catch a Saturday Night Live re-run with Dan Akroyd spoofing Child; the differences are obvious. Even with the musical voice, Streep's potrayal never runs amok or turns cartoonish. There are some undeniably sweet scenes between Child and her husband (played with nice understatement by Tucci), that manage to show off Child's humanity. It's these glimpses into the less charming parts of Child's life that allow her triumphs to be that much more delightful on screen, whether it's succeeding at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, or moving one step closer to getting her book published.
Now, in a film with two related but separated stories, comparisons are inevitable. Which one is better? Do the Julia Child segments demolish those with Julie Powell? Well, having been convinced that the Powell segments would be a terrible bore by some reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with the way these portions turned out. The film allows us to see the strain Julie's project puts on her job and marriage. However, this can also be problematic. In attempting to make the overall film quite light, we never quite get the sense of how much of a strain the project puts on Julie's marriage (explored much more than the effects on her job). So when Eric says that Julie has become unbearably self centered, it's a bit confusing. Is he overreacting, or has she really become so obsessed with the project that she only thinks of herself? While it's easy to assume, we don't have enough evidence to go either way. As for Julia, the lightness of the project does keep Streep from exploring deeper, meatier territory, but the quieter, more serious moments still flow better.
Shockingly, there is one significant way in which Julie one-ups Julia, and it's in the realm of framing devices. With Julie, we are given a defined sense of time: she has one year, and 524 recipes, so whenever we get an update from her (via voiceovers of various blog entries) we get a stricter, more focused sense of time. With Child, who, yes, did have the richer life, the story at times starts to feel a bit aimless, though thankfully never dull. Though we do hear several letters written by Paul and Julia, they aren't used as consistently, and don't do much to give us a sense that the narrative is moving forward. So by the time that Julia is in the process of showing the book to various publishers, the movie starts to feel a bit uncertain as to where it wants to end, even though the ending is a perfectly obvious place.
On the artistic and technical side there's nothing mindblowing. Sets and costumes from the Child segments recreate the period, although several wideshots of Parisian streets a strangely absent of extras. Most memorable is Alexandre Desplat's score, which is as light and charming as the movie itself, which as I said, tends to stay on the bright side of life. So, while this film about a world famous chef and a woman seeking to channel her decades later may not be a richly satisfying entree, it's still a satisfying and light dessert. Bon appetit!
Grade: B
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