Time to post something new...but I have been very busy. Off soon to see Up in the Air, and finally just rented Julie & Julia, when it came back in at my local library, which makes me want to:
1) Cook. Not really, but I do need to make a banana bread with those ripe bananas!
2) Start a fun project like that. In my case, probably a poem a day.
This means:
1) I will add those blueberries to the banana bread.
2) Even more people won't read my blog.
Some people hated the whining, self-absorbed Julie. I liked her just fine. But, ah, Julia!
I saw Julie and Julia when it came out, and I liked it too--even Julie.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that the "Julie" character--yes, it's non fiction, but we all know that memoirists and filmmakers use creative license--is much more likable in the film version, than the "real" Julie in her book and blog. The book has *horrible* reviews on amazon, I noticed.
Also, I was disappointed to hear that her second book was about her affair with a butcher, leaving her husband & etc. So sad.
That said, Julia Child was the coolest, and Ms. Streep's portrayal was just pitch perfect. It totally made me want to cook--except for that whole calf's foot business! Ick. Do people really eat aspic?
Uh oh, about the real Julie! Too bad. I remember that the girl with the pearl earring had a butcher boyfriend, and that the boy and the dad admired her because she knew her meats. Perhaps that's what happened with all the cooking of meat, etc!
ReplyDeleteYes, Meryl is marvelous! At everything!
Loved the movie, which I saw when it hit our local indie theater (none of the local chains ran it) in September. Perfect timing, as it sent me on a beef bourguignon kick that fall.
ReplyDeleteIt also send me to the bookstore for the book. I hadn't read the reviews before and was not prepared for how unattractive Julie is in the book. (And I didn't think it all that terribly well-written.)
I had thought the movie had made the husband a little over-sensitive. After reading the book I realized that the movie had left out most of the provocations for his hissy-fit. One redeeming note for the Julie in the book -- the author deserves credit for her honesty.
Interestingly, that fall I read, almost seriatum, three books that had been made into movies I enjoyed, and was disappointed by each.
First was "Chocolat" (disclaimer, a high-school friend wrote the screenplay), a movie I loved. It was a muddled and blah book. Then "Freedom Writers", which I put off seeing because it just sounded too precious. Of course, the movie was not what I expected, but the book seemed grossly inauthentic and I didn't even bother to finish it. And then J&J.
Often, a film version is like a shallow memory of a novel. But sometimes, a good screenwriter distills the essence of a book and adds a point of view to make something new & better on screen than in print. (I'll spare you my blasphemous view of the source material for the wonderful film, "For Whom the Bell Tolls".)
Kathleen, glad you posted a link to your blog, I have enjoyed perusing.