Eugene weekly., August 13, 2009, Page 27, Image 27

movies
BY MOLLY TEMPLETON
Cooking For Two
Savoring some delicious moments
JULIE & JULIA: Written and directed by Nora
Ephron. Based on the books Julie and Julia by
Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child
and Alex Prud’homme. Starring Meryl Streep, Amy
Adams, Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina. Columbia
Pictures, 2009. PG-13. 124 minutes. 44441
their paths just so. Child’s gorgeous French
apartment and Powell’s tiny Queens kitchen
turn out to be the same place: where change
starts. Both lives are an argument against the
obnoxious notion that one must know who
and what one wants to be by the ripe old age
of 25. And both relationships are proof
cannot count the superlatives used
that there can be romance and sex
to describe Meryl Streep’s
Meryl Streep
and sweetness between married
performance as Julia Child
as Julia Child
couples, even over the age of
in Nora Ephron’s Julie &
40.
Julia — and I’ve been
In fact, Julie & Julia is
trying to avoid reading the
full of things often thought
reviews. Streep, cleverly
to be near-impossible in
(if sometimes obviously)
Hollywood movies: It’s a
made to tower like the
fi lm about women, as A.O.
6’2” Julia, tips toward
Scott pointed out in The New
people as if she smells
York Times, that’s not about “the
something she likes on them;
desperate pursuit of men.” Instead,
she’s breathless, and her voice is
it’s about what women need outside of and
unmistakable. If you don’t come to the fi lm
beyond relationships, and how hard it can be
with a great love for Child, it may take a few
to fi nd those things, even if it seems you’ve
minutes to adjust, to start seeing Julia Child
got everything else. It has couples where
rather than Meryl Streep turning in another
the women are taller and — shock! — the
major performance. When you do, though,
partners appear to be fairly close in age.
Julie & Julia snaps into place: There she
The most emotional moments pass quietly
is, the Julia who hasn’t found her place in
but still heartbreakingly. Failure is met with
culinary history yet. Streep is airborne, a
frustration but little high drama. Cheese and
bumbling yet appealing creature in fl ight.
butter are praised, and only the most grating
When the fi lm shifts to the story of Julie
characters deny themselves the pleasure of
Powell (Amy Adams), it settles back down
enjoying a good meal. It needn’t be a perfect
to earth, fi nding a lovely symmetry in the
meal — or a perfect fi lm — to be worth
stories of two women who fi nd themselves,
savoring.
and their passions, in the kitchen.
ew
In 2002 New York, Julie has just moved
into a Queens walkup with her husband, Eric
(Chris Messina). Her job is less than fulfi lling,
OPENING OR RETURNING:
ArchaeologyFest Film Series: Best of 2009: Selections
and most of her friends are terrible. In 1948
from the festival, which took place earlier this year, play over
two weekends. 7:30 pm Aug. 14, 15, 21 & 22, DIVA. $6. See full
France — a place gilded and so warmly lit it
schedule at divacenter.org
Bandslam: High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens costars
hardly looks real — Julia and her husband,
in this story of rival high school bands hoping to face off at a
Paul (Stanley Tucci), have just arrived. Julia
battle of the bands. PG. 111 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.
Chéri: Michelle Pfeiffer leads the cast of Stephen Frears’
loves everything, charms everyone and
adaptation of the Colette story about an aging French
courtesen and the much younger man (Rupert Friend) she
really doesn’t know what to do with herself.
loves. Kathy Bates co-stars. R. Bijou. See review this issue.
Departures: An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language
What does she like to do? Eat, which, as they
Film, Yojiro Takita’s fi lm follows a cellist who loses his job,
moves back to his hometown and fi nds himself working
note over one of many delectable dinners,
preparing bodies for funerals — a job everyone else hates,
but he takes quite seriously. “Uncommonly absorbing,” said
she and Paul are very good at. What’s Julie
Roger Ebert. Not rated. Bijou.
District 9: Producer Peter Jackson gets top billing, but
good at? She’s not sure. She wrote half of a
this sci-fi fi lm about aliens taking refuge in South Africa is
actually the feature-fi lm debut of director Neill Blomkamp.
novel once. Over a simple dinner — and in a
The buzz is beyond good; Blomkamp is already being dubbed
one to watch. R. 112 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.
slightly awkward conversation — she arrives
Goods, The: Live Hard, Sell Hard: The underrated Jeremy
Piven stars in this fl ick about … honestly, I can’t really tell
at the notion of writing a blog as she cooks
what it’s about. But Piven’s character fi nds love while trying
her way through Julia’s Mastering the Art of
to save a car dealership from bankruptcy. Whatever. It’s
Jeremy Piven. He’s funny. R. 90 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium
French Cooking. One year; 524 recipes. You
15.
I Love You, Man: Some people are calling this one a dick
do the math.
fl ick: Paul Rudd proposes to his girlfriend (Rashida Jones),
but then desperately needs to fi nd a male best friend to be
Adams has the fairly thankless role, the
his best man. So he goes on a bunch of “man-dates.” With
Andy Samberg and the delightful Jason Segel. R. David Minor
contemporary 30ish woman who doesn’t
Theater. 44421 (3/26)
Ponyo: This loose adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” in
know what she wants in life; worse, she fi nds
which an eager goldfi sh dreams of becoming human, is
directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). Honestly, you
herself through blogging, a notion sure to
shouldn’t need to know anything else. OK, the voice actors
include Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Matt Damon, Noah
make plenty of eyes roll. She’s no Julia Child,
Cyrus and Frankie Jonas, and apparently those last two
are just fi ne. Just go, already! G. 100 min. Cinemark. VRC
sure, but no one can be. And were Julie &
Stadium 15.
Time Traveler’s Wife, The: Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana
Julia simply about the towering, inimitable
star in this adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling
book about a man cursed with a genetic anomaly that sends
Child, the fi lm would lose part of its strength:
him skipping, uncontrollably, through time — and the woman
Julia, in Nora Ephron’s script, is very nearly
who loves him despite that. PG13.107 min. Cinemark. VRC
Stadium 15.
the perfect creature Julie imagines her to
Triplets of Belleville, The: Sylvain Chomet’s animated tale
features the writer-director’s whimsical, skewed architecture
be, and thus Julie, with her meltdowns and
looming over the bizarre fi gures, who populate his strange
and wonderful story. A don’t-miss gem from 2003, the fi lm’s
small but believable fi ghts with her husband,
Academy Award noms include Best Animated Film and
original song. PG-13. David Minor Theater.
brings in the human-sized part of the story.
URFest: Nationally touring festival of documentary fi lms
about urban renewal is intended to “start community
(Though to be fair, the cinematic Julie is also
dialogues about urban revitalization.” Probably we all ought
to go, then. 7 pm Thursday, Aug. 20, DIVA. Donations.
less dramatic, and less prone to enjoying her
Visioneers: Actor Zach Galifi anakis’ new fi lm, a dystopian
story about a future in which feelings are tightly controlled,
vodka gimlets, than the one in the book.)
is being released online (www.visioneersthemovie.com) and
shown at screenings all over the place. (The night before
Even with the difference in scale — Julia
this one, Wandering Goat also hosts a Galifi anakis lookalike
contest. No joke.) 9 pm Saturday, Aug. 15, Wandering Goat.
larger than life, living well wherever Paul is
21+. Donations. See review this issue.
sent by his government job; Julie small and
Films open the Friday following EW publication date
ordinary and concerned with the number of
unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.
eugeneweekly.com
comments on her blog — Ephron lines up
I
movie clips
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EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 13, 2009 23