Since the movie Julie & Julia is out and all the rage, I wanted to have my say. First, I admit that I haven’t seen the movie, but have seen many reviews and gotten feedback from friends who have seen it. A common theme of those reviews and comments is that Meryl Streep steals the show as Julia Child, and is hilarious and endearing, and that Amy Adams as Julie Powell, is slow and annoying. Please Read The Book!!I can’t help but feel that the movie just exploits our love of Meryl Streep (to sell movie tickets) and ignores the true story, which is actually very little about Julia Child and all about Julie Powell. Julie, who is an Austin gal, wrote this wonderful book, which I think deserves better treatment. It is a great, laugh out loud story that made me want to adopt her as my daughter. I felt the same about the book and movie, Under The Tuscan Sun – wonderful book, mediocre movie that was nothing, nothing like the book.
So please buy and read Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. You’ll be glad you did.
Posts
You are correct. Most books are so rich in character and place that movies are, at best, Cliff's Notes, and even that may be a stretch. Some exceptions may be The DaVinci Code and all of the Harry Potter movies. But that's another discussion. Have you read My Life in France? That's the OTHER book the screenplay was based on. I'm sure it was fun to juxtapose the two in writing, but MLIF should have been the sole basis for the movie. That is a rich and vibrant story, well-written and alive with the adventure of a lifetime. Bottom line: I liked both books--a lot.
ReplyDeleteI read MLIF years ago and loved it, but would like to read it again. Thanks for reminding me, and thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteSueAnn
Ditto, of course. Am almost afraid to see the movie as I loved both Julie and Julia - and - My Life in France - and everything about Julia herself. We book people will just have to woefully realize, all over again, that the movie cannot do justice to the book - whatever movie or whatever book. Carl is right - that's another discussion. But thanks, SueAnn, for giving us the opportunity to vent. Charlena
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! And thanks for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteIf you will permit me another post, only slightly off-topic, I also really loved Under The Tuscan Sun. My wife, Tina, and I were actually staying in a villa called El Refugio (one can find it on the Internet and rent it) while attending a week long cooking school near the village of Cortona where the movie is set. We actually watched the movie for the first time on a VHS tape while we were there! It was almost like magic, and we found the little house where the exteriors of her house were shot. Thanks for the memory. We also discovered Prosecco on that trip. Nectar.
ReplyDeleteYes - You may recall that I visited Tuscany shortly after you. You'd said to try Prosecco and I did (much Prosecco), and am now terribly addicted to it! I saw a summer Prosecco recipe that suggests a dip of Raspberry or Mango sorbet with Prosecco poured over.Haven't tried yet, but will. A bit of an abomination, but sounds yummy just the same!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
ReplyDeleteBook Movie Tickets