Well, Well, Well - French Cooking Rescues Hollywood

If you follow this blog at all you know I had a very bad taste in my mouth over the recent Transformers movie. I thought it was crafted by lazy writers and exploited children. I think I said I felt the retailers and food chains using the movie as a marketing tool were also subsurface mucus. Basically, I thought it was disgusting.

Again, I am not the big movie buff at my house, my wife is. I do on occasion see a movie trailer that intrigues me and if the wife and I go to the theatre I push for the one that I thought I might like. On a rare convergence of the moon and stars we both agreed recently on the movie Julie and Julia, the new Meryl Streep movie.

OK, so guys are thinking what a chick flick dude, what were you thinking? To that I respond in a couple ways, first, I wanted to see it so shut up. The other is I just thought it would be a well done movie and I was looking for Hollywood to prove me wrong about my most recent evaluation. I don’t know if I am aligned with Streep and her political beliefs, but I can’t think of any that would keep me from going to her movies. Now forget it if it has Tom Cruise or Woopie Goldburg or a handful of others, I am not going.

The movie was the convergence of two wonderful memoirs, My Life in France by Julie Child and the blogs by young budding writer Julie Powell who worked through Child’s famous cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The movie was exceptionally well written and the two cuss words were not out of character, nor inappropriate for an adult rated movie. I love the actors, especially Streep who has got to be one of the most brilliant actors in the business. I don’t know if I have seen many movies where she did not stand out. Her accent and portrayal had me believing that that she was Julia Child.

I laughed through the movie and found at the end I was wanting more. The film did what I consider the purpose of a movie, to move you emotionally, entertain, create an enjoyable experience and not insult your intelligence. I want to be lead into an experience with a film, not tricked into the theatre.

I won’t take back my comments about the other movie I referenced at the top of this blog, it was bad. I am however reconsidering the industry as a whole. There are exceptionally well crafted films out there that deserve to be seen. Julia and Julia is one of them. Thanks to Nora Epheron who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, fabulous.

I am glad to see the talents of Julie Powell, Meryl Streep, Nora Ephron and Amy Adams recognized and that they collaborated in a film that inspires. This movie just makes everything a little bit better. I am keeping one eye open where the liberal west coast movie makers are concerned, but for now I am inspired and I must get back to de-boning my duck, bon appetite ya’ll.