You can never have enough butter

Posted by Aimee on July 14, 2009

Before Paula Deen said it on the Food Network, there was Julia Child. And Julia loved butter!

Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview of Sony Pictures Julie & Julia at the Northlake Mall AMC Theater with some of the members of my Sunday knitting group. This movie was FANTASTIC! I mean Meryl Streep and Amy Adams – how can you go wrong? But really, this movie was funny and smart with a dash of heart ache.

I haven’t read the book or blog that this was based on, but the story is based on the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell – two women who are lost until they discover cooking and how they find themselves. Julia’s story starts when she and her husband move to Paris. Julie’s when she moves from Brooklyn to Queens (apparently for non-New Yorkers this is a traumatic experience – I didn’t quite get it since I move a lot, but I have heard it is hard to move to a new borough!) All of Julie’s friends are super successful while she is a glorified government secretary listening to those who have lost or sick loved ones in the wake of 9-11. Their lives are paralleled as the story progresses.

I really related to Julie. She tells a story of her childhood and why she loves Julia – and while I don’t have a “my mother cooked Julia’s bouf bourginion” story, I did grow up watching Julia (and Bob Ross, but that is a story for another day) I remember thinking she was weird as a kid – but loving her, her voice, her mannerisms – all of which Meryl Streep really nailed!!! And I do love good food. Don’t worry – I am not going to take Julie’s lead and cook my way through “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blogging it – which is what this film chronicles on her end, but I may have to make bouf bourginion this weekend!!!

The US release date for this film is August 7. Everyone I was with enjoyed the movie. I personally laughed, and yes there was some tearing up. I got to know Julia in a way I never did – and Julie, her husband and her cat! There are many little moments I would love to tell you about – there is one with a chocolate cake for instance – but I don’t want to spoil the joy, love, heartbreaking sadness that I felt for anyone. But trust me on this one – go see this movie. Streep and Adams were great in this movie! It is probably the first thing I have seen in a theater in a year and it was well worth it!

Oh – one last thing – their cat? Yes, that cat stole the show! That cat was funny, adorable and in my opinion a star!