"Julie & Julia" sort of a movie review from a mom & fellow self-learner

Rarely do I get out to see a movie. Even rarer is it a new movie where I fork over anything over $1. Today's matinee was $7 to see "Julie & Julia" with some friends. The money was worth it, for the chance to get out with some lady friends and to see a decent movie. Not fabulous, but decent.

Amy Adams portrays Julie Powell, a woman who decided to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook "Masting the Art of French Cooking" in one year. A monumental task that I give Julie great kudos for. As much as I want to try new recipes and improve upon my culinary skills, or lack thereof, I'm not sure I'll ever try many of Julia's recipes. Well, except for perhaps the Bouef Bourguignon and the Buerre Blanc!

Meryl Streep does an incredible job at playing Julia Child. There were many scenes that had me laughing and chuckling throughout the movie and they all centered around Julia's personality characterized wonderfully by Meryl.

It's a foodie movie. It's a bit of a chick flick and it's yet another movie that has me saying, "Why?" Well, I'll explain that part later.

So the movie goes back and forth between Julie Powell who lives in Queen's, NY in 2002 & Julia Child, primarily in France, during the late 1940's and on for the next decade. Julie decides to go through Julia's cookbook in a year and blog about it. Julia Child begins to learn to cook because she loves food. Julie is obsessed with the task at hand and as she goes through the year she feels closer and closer to the Julia Child. Julia out-cooks the men at Le Cordon Bleu, begins to teach Americans to cook French food and works on a coookbook with two other women.

Julie appears to have a great husband who supports her through the whole process, though they have one fight resulting in his walking out for what seems to be a couple of days. When Julie realizes she has been self absorbed and not too nice she blog it, he reads it and he comes back. Julia Child meanwhile appears to have the perfect playful and loving marriage with Paul. They support and love each other through everything and she is truly the epitome of the phrase "full of life."

What is the point of the movie? Mostly just a feel good showing of two people's lives and how they found purpose through the love of food and cooking. Well, that's my take anyway. However, I was encouraged to be more supportive and loving to my own husband. It was encouraging to see the love and fun in the Child's relationship and to see Julie recognize her behavior as not so nice to her husband. May we all recognize how our attitudes and behavior affect others and be encouraged to be more gracious, loving and forgiving.

So, why the "Why?" WHY does Hollywood persist to throw in curse words and add sexual references in movies, especially one like this? Seriously, it was like having them thrown in like a dash of salt. But salt is supposed to bring out the best in food. In many cases, like this film, it ends up being more like acid in cream. It just boggles my mind why anyone feels the need to do that. Those who would get offended, like me, will be offended. Those that wouldn't, wouldn't care if it wasn't there. So who benefits?

I'd love to add films like this to Christian Home Library but I don't feel I can because of a few curse words, sexual references and a couple scenes where the kisses went further...and the camera followed. To remove these would have shaved maybe a minute or two from the film and I could then put the upcoming DVD on our shelves. Not so now.

By the way, before seeing the movie I looked up Julie Powell's most recent blog. She admits to being foul mouthed and she is...frequently. I didn't get very far with it as a result and I don't recommend it.

FINDING MEANING IN LIFE. Part of the underlying theme for the movie is Julie's search for meaning in life. It seems that with a book deal and a movie, she is still looking for meaning. Unless she finds out how much Jesus loves her and cares about her every minute of every day, until she calls out to the very one who Created her to be a masterpiece and testimony of His love, she won't ever find that meaning. No one will.

Psalm 8: 3-4 "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

Romans 5: 6-8 "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

TO JULIE - HE cares for you more than anyone; any editor, any man, any food, any star. May the most creative and capable lover and creator be revealed to you and may you find the meaning your life was meant to have.