Julie and Julia

Indra and I saw this movie over the Labor Day weekend. She had of course read all the reviews and what all the foodies had to say, me not so much.

To start with let me say I have never really watched any of the Julia Child cooking shows or read any of her books. This is partially due to my aversion to anything commercialized (and widely popular) and partially because her voice and over enthusiastic presentation have always grated on me. As I was explaining this to Indra and acknowledging Julia's contribution to American cooking of course, Indra described Julia in a way that gave me a whole new perspective, and appreciation for her work. Are you ready? Here it is..... Julia Child is a Muppet!

No really, think about it! Funny voice, larger than life, big sweeping gestures, boundless enthusiasm, the whole thing -- definitely Muppety. And as Indra puts it just like a Muppet she is different and people like her in the real world when you are different people don't like you. So I am all on board the Julia Child is a Muppet train, it definitely makes watching her shows more entertaining.

But I was talking about the movie, Meryl Streep great, duh, the food was mouth watering and inspiring, the company great, but what about the rest of it? Well let’s see. Plot? Well it is about a blog, and blogs don't usually have plots, but whatever. Entertaining? It was, definitely entertaining, but even so. I did not need Julia Child and sex linked in my visual memory. Would the movie have been better without Julie? No, not really, while Julie doesn't really compare to Julia, except perhaps in their love of food and their men, she bridged the gap between the goddess of French cooking and average everyday Americans like me. It is kind of ironic when you think about it. Bringing us clueless, servant less Americans to love and prepare French cuisine – well that’s what Julia was all about to start with.

You don't have to be a foodie to enjoy this, but I guarantee afterwards you will crave some good French cooking. Make a day of it and take your honey to a nice French restaurant, or if they are a foodie like me, take them to the pots and pan store and shell out some dough for some of the beautiful cookware featured in the movie, or get one of Julia's biographies and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Your reward will undoubtedly be many luscious French meals.