Initially, as I lazily made my way up the 3rd Street promenade on the weekend, I dithered about whether to catch Meryl Streep's latest flick, "Julie & Julia".
It was a woman's bonbon movie, wasn't it?
As I approached the Theatre, though, I spied a line of excited film fans that snaked down the street which consisted of ticket-holders of all sexual persuasion (young and old alike).
That cinched it for me, 'cause the word of mouth was obviously good.
Shortly after the opening credits crawled to a close, and the feature sprang to life on the wide-screen, I found myself guffawing out loud.
In fact, I don't recall having such side-splitting fun at a screening in months.
The plot consists of two stories, really, that intertwine.
Half of the scenes zero in on celebrated author Julia Child in her lettuce-and-salad days in France, where she painstakingly toiled away (with collaborators) on the manuscript for a cookbook, which eventually landed on the best-seller list (at last count publishers were boasting 49 editions).
On the other side of the ocean, a few decades later, the entertaining comedy also tracks a spirited young married woman in search for her calling in life.
If you're a daily blogger, then get ye to the cinema, straight-a-way!
After all, the film is partly about the ubiquitous blogosphere that shadows our daily lives, and the ups-and-downs of blogging.
Insider-humor about the Internet phenomenon is downright hilarious (and bang on).
In a nutshell, our ballsy heroine launches a blog on the topic of cooking, with Julia Child's "Bible" on cooking in hand, with the ultimate goal of getting her bearings in life once and for all.
Meryl Streep is an utter delight!
Although much-touted for her dramatic acting skills, in this well-crafted feature it's quite evident that the award-winning actress has an awesome natural flair for comedy that may end up landing her a much-deserved nod from the Academy for the campy portrayal (a tough row to hoe, I know).
Amy Adams, all sweetness and light, is suitably cast here.
Die-hard fans (and then some) are flocking to catch her latest performance, according to my spies.
For reasons you'll understand later, the review tidily finishes up here.
However, I am inclined to mention a curious scenario that unfolded this week, that was quite intriguing in view of the recent release of "Julie & Julia" in the Los Angeles area.
In a post yesterday, I noted that I stumbled across two cartons of unwanted books left at the curb, in West Hollywood.
Post: 08/11/2009
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/08/vincent-price-signed-letter-gold.html
Ironically, when I rifled through the boxes (the day after I took the Streep comedy), I found a two-page type-written letter tucked inside a hardcover book written on elegant stationary from a San Francisco organization known as:
"The American Institute of Wine & Food"
Julia Child & Robert Modavi were listed on the letterhead as Honorary Chairmen!
In the body of the letter, Vincent Price actually refers to Julia Child in passing, to a member.
"We continue to watch as an ever increasingly remarkable group of people become Founders and join us in an array of events and programs."
"The national Founders group means that whether founders convene for festive weekends in Santa Barbara with Julia Child or special meals in New York City hosted by Anne Rosenzweig of "21", we are assured of doing so with talented and interesting friends from all over the country."
Imagine that!
The synchronicity here is simply astounding, isn't it?
On that note, eat well, and be healthy!
Underrated actress has starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio
