Review of 'Julie & Julia'

Since I'm taking a class called 'Introduction to Cinema' as an honors class, I am required to write at least 4 movie reviews. The main purpose is to supply the student newspaper with content, but it is not garantueed that every review is also printed. My first review got printed, so I'm pretty excited about that. The editor changed the title because it was too long and some minor details, but here is the edition that I handed in:

Julie, Julia and the lack of creativity

Meryl Streep probably is the best actress of our time – 15 Oscar nominations and 2 wins speak for themselves. Unfortunately, some of her movies question her choice in roles. ‘Julie & Julia’ is one of those movies.

‘Julie & Julia’ is the story of Julia Child, an American who learns how to cook in Paris, and Julie Powell, an office worker who escapes her world by cooking Julia Child’s recipes. Among the well-chosen cast are Meryl Streep as Julia, Amy Adams as Julie, the great but underused Stanley Tucci as Julia’s husband, the hilarious Jane Lynch and quirky Mary Lynn Rajskub. The acting is solid throughout the movie, but there is only so much actors can do when the material isn’t quite right.

Solid seems to be the theme of this movie – the acting is solid, the music is solid, the storylines are solid, but nothing stands out. It seems as if the writers, directors and editors hadn’t taken any risks and thereby made the movie boring. With its 2 hours and 3 minutes, the movie does not progress as swiftly as it could. Numerous storylines are briefly mentioned – a wedding, a divorce, unsupportive friends, the wish for a baby – but then not touched upon for the rest of the film. This frustrates the viewer, who could have done without these storylines and wouldn’t have missed them at all.

Nora Ephron, who co-wrote and directed ‘Julie & Julia’, was certainly another reason why viewers saw the movie or had high expectations of it. ‘When Harry Met Sally…’, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ and ‘You’ve Got Mail’ are all classics either written or written and directed by Ephron. However, looking back at her last movie, ‘Bewitched’, it almost seems as if she has lost her magic as a filmmaker.

The movie offers a few laughs and a few heartfelt moments, but fails to draw the viewer in completely. Amy Adams is adorable, even through her flaws and breakdowns the audience can’t help but like Julie. Meryl Streep’s acting is consistently great, but Julie & Julia doesn’t allow her to show her skills.

Had the movie been shorter by 30 minutes, viewers might have thoroughly enjoyed watching the story unfold. However, no character or storyline stood out and this movie-going experience will probably be forgotten by many as soon as they leave the theatre.

I have doubt. I have such doubts.

[Spoiler alert, as always.]

A few weeks ago my godmother and I went to see Doubt. I had pretty high expectations for the movie, since I'd heard so many good things about it and I have to say I was not disappointed. The storyline kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole movie and the acting was simply amazing.

What was most intriguing to me was the ending. The movie didn't leave you after you left the theatre, which is always something I really enjoy. My godmother and I both were convinced that we knew who was right and who was wrong. Only, she thought that the priest, Father Flynn, didn't do anything wrong, whereas I was certain that Meryl Streep's character, Sister Aloysius, was right to do what she did. It is really fascinating to see a story unfold, in which you can never be certain. You can never know for sure what really happened.

There were some scenes in which I felt like the creators of the story were trying to point the viewers into one or the other direction, but since there were scenes for both directions, it really was hard to figure out who you believed. The fact that the boy was supposedly gay did surprise, but also disturb me. Part of me felt like that there was this notion that it was okay for priest to come onto him since he was 'asking for it'. How his mother repeated 'It's only till the summer' was also unsettling, it seemed like she was putting her son's happiness in this moment away so that he could have a better future. Her despair to deal with the situation just shocked me, because really, what would you do in a situation like that. Women didn't have much to say at that time anyways, and as a black woman trying to just manage and not be a target of the racism that existed all around, I can imagine mothers actually reacting like that. Viola Davis did an absolutely amazing job at portraying that struggle so well you could actually feel her pain.

All in all, I think the movie raised some questions that every person will probably have to face in his life. What do you do, when you don't know for sure? How do you deal with uncertainty? Do you change your plans when in doubt? How much do you stand by your personal convictions? Certainly something to think about.