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Reviews Counted:192
Fresh:143
Rotten:49
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Boosted by Meryl Streep's charismatic performance as Julia Child, Julie and Julia is a light, but fairly entertaining culinary comedy.
Theatrical Release:11-09-2009
Synopsis: Meryl Streep is Julia Child and Amy Adams is Julie Powell in writer-director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Powell’s Julie & Julia and My Life in France, by Julia Child with... [More]
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina
Director: Nora Ephron
The movie is sweet, amusing and, unlike one of Child's decadent platters of beef bourguignon, mostly weightless; if not for Streep's expert portrayal, which is boundlessly energetic and respectful, it might float off the screen.
In the end, Julie & Julia doesn't stack up as much more than a pleasant summertime diversion, but it's hands down the best such trifle that Ephron has ever concocted.
Love and food, the basics of life, two passions common to nearly everyone on the planet, the film offers them up like hors d'oeuvres never ceasing to circle the room. It's gentle, tender, warm, and sprinkled generously with tasty bits of humor.
The Julie character is just not as interesting as Julia Child, but the movie entertains and will be loved by the over-50 set. Streep will be deservedly Oscar nominated.
While women seem the most immediate audience for this soufflé-light summer film, anyone with even fleeting interest in writing or in eating (a much larger demo, for sure) will want to revel in this two hour long celebration of love, life and Lobster Therm
The single best reason to see the film is Streep and Tucci together, turning their Devil Wears Prada rivalry into a funny, deeply romantic marriage, full of quips and sex and lots of amazing food.
When actors like these are cooking, it’s better than haute cuisine.
This entertaining new comedy from Nora Ephron, about famed chef Julia Child and author Julie Powell, is a homage to every woman's unique talent for reinvention.
Needs a story and a director. Bottom line: Who cares?
Fluffy, shallow and repetitious, Ephron's mildly amusing comedy is gimmicky without the emotional pay-off, juxtaposing the stories of two American housewives, in which Meryl Streep overacts in the showy role and Amy Adams is stuck with the dull one.
Julie & Julia is a mixed blessing. You enjoy vicariously many dishes, sample the good life in France and get treated to another Streep marvel.
Top CriticThis middling melange of Child biopic and contempo dramedy feels overstuffed and predigested.
Top Critic
August 06, 2009:
Critics Consensus: It's Quiet For G.I. Joe. Too Quiet.
This week at the movies, we got real American heroes (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, starring Dennis Quaid and Sienna Miller); kitchen chronicles (Julie & Julia, starring Meryl... More...
August 06, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Go, Joe!
Some real American heroes look to storm the box office this weekend as Paramount unleashes its latest toy franchise film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Sony counters with the... More...
July 31, 2009:
Julie & Julia: Food Facts in Pictures
French chef Julia Child's fascinating transformation from neophyte to TV cook is the subject of next week's Julie & Julia, or rather part of the story; the other half is told... More...
July 29, 2009:
Film Food Ready for Its Close-Up in Julie & Julia 
Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia" isn't just one of the more intriguing movies being targeted at the female demographic this summer -- it also represents just how far food in film... More...
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