The Joy of Cooking

I find I must already make a revision to my Top 10 Films of 2009 list, though only a small one. Inglourious Basterds is getting bumped off the number 10 spot in favor of a movie I just watched this week, Julie & Julia.

It's not a movie I really expected to make the time for. It didn't really sound like my type of movie, or look like it when it was in theaters. (Which is why I passed the first time around). But I'd heard a few good things from a friend or two, and then the critics started buzzing about how Meryl Streep was a lock for her 193rd Oscar nomination for this movie. And then there was the fact that I absolutely loved Doubt, and while this movie was of a far different nature, it does star two of the same women from that movie -- not only Meryl Streep, but also Amy Adams. I finally caved.

If you missed the ads, Julie & Julia is a hybrid tale, two stories interwoven together. Decades in the past, famous chef Julia Child finds her love of cooking while living abroad in France, then struggles to write a cookbook and get it published. At the same time, we track a woman in 2002 who is looking for something to light a fire in her rather dreary life; she settles on trying to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook during a single calendar year.

The script, adapted by director Nora Ephron from published books, is also a bit of a hybrid; it's simultaneously a very careful and clever piece of writing, and a somewhat disappointing effort. The structure of it is really excellent. The film is written in a way that really sells the interwoven storylines. It finds commonalities in tone and emotion between both women, and with a skilled, light touch, presents those to the audience.

But while the script is supported by a very strong structure, it ultimately doesn't have anything to say. The peaks and valleys in these stories never seem very high or low. The film never really engages the audience on an emotional level; there's a general "warm fuzziness" to the proceedings, but not even so strong as to call this a "feel good" movie.

Still, the performances are excellent. Meryl Streep's take on Julia Child is not merely a skilled impersonation, but a real embodiment of a person to an extent where it rarely seems like an impersonation. Amy Adams is equally effective in anchoring her half of the film. There are also many bright spots in the supporting cast, including Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch, and Stanley Tucci. They really make you want to watch in the hopes that the movie will turn out to be "more," even though it never really is.

So how does this end up being my 10th favorite movie of 2009? Well, because there is just sort of something "fun" about the whole thing. More fun the the cathartic Nazi slaughter of Inglourious Basterds? Well, that's a hard comparison, though I suppose I'll say no. But Julie & Julia know when to quit, where Tarantino's film -- as is his custom -- drones on and on in far too many of its scenes. Julia & Julia may not be profound, but there is a joy to it. And probably, it isn't reasonable to expect "profound" there anyway.

In any case, I give it a B. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's will please a good number of people.