Julie & Julia

I'm not sure what I was expecting to see when I watched this film - but any film with Amy Adams in gets my vote!

I'm not going to say much about the story as it will spoil it. I think Streep could be up for an Oscar here. The story is based on a true life cookery personality Julia Child and her best selling Mastering the Art of French Cooking which was first published in 1961 and is now in its 40th edition! The book launched a career as a TV cook for Julia and she was a regular feature over the next 35 years. She died in 2004 aged 91.

Julie on the other hand is just about to turn 30, a writer at heart who is stuck in an unfulfilling job and who longs for more. Apart from her marriage, the only other thing that fires her is deciding what to cook for dinner each evening. To break free from the drudgery, she decides to cook all 524 recipes from Julia's book in 365 days and to blog about the experience. The blog becomes a huge hit and so the story grows....

The story is warm, light-hearted, challenging and gentle. It's about creativity, inspiration, shared love and the support a spouse can provide. An excellent film from the Director of Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail but without the slushy sentimentalism. Well worth the investment of time to watch it.

The Bible Society run a subscription only service website call Reel Issues which can be found here. I am an occasional contributor to the studies they feature which cover a wide range of films. For example I have written studies for No Country for Old Men and  Simpsons Movie. So it comes as no surprise that the February movie will be Julie and Julia - and guess who's writing the study?

I'll rate this film 8/10.