Have you seen Julie & Julia yet? While not a perfect movie, it certainly is entertaining, especially if you:
a) love Julia Child
b) write a food blog
c) have an overwhelming love of food and cooking
You see, the movie isn't as much about food as it is about cooking. Sure, there's some great relationship stuff in there too, as anyone who's read Julia Child's My Life in France (one of the two books on which the movie is based) would know. Julia and her husband Paul were very much in love and a match made in heaven. His support helped her through the strenuous years of trying to get her now famous cookbook written and published, and certainly plays a major role in the film. But it's the cooking--how she learned to do it, how she mastered it, and how it got her through, that's really the focus of the film. The same goes for Julie Powell, the food blogger turned author who was lifted out of a slump by her passion for cooking. Although she finds inspiration by channeling Julia Child, it's the constant cooking after a terrible workday and the routine of it that ultimately saves her. The movie is also based on her book Julie and Julia, for which the movie is named.
As I mentioned, the film has its faults, among them the fact that it sort feels unfinished and ends a bit abruptly. But there's a great deal of comedy, gorgeous food, and a story we can all relate to on some level. I happen to relate on far too many levels, but if like me, you remember watching Julia cook on any one of her shows, then you're halfway to liking to movie. There's no denying that Meryl Streep once again steals this film, and that's just something we'll all have to live with. Her feat is not just mastering that voice without playing a caricature of Julia, but getting her mannerisms down pat (lightly touching everyone on the arm, moving in close to make a joke, etc...). Not that she's the only stand-out performance, since her Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci is perfectly cast as Julia's husband Paul. He's exactly the funny, sarcastic, smart and doting man that Julia always said he was.
As was expected, I was less entertained by the Julie Powell part of the film than the Julia Child portions--but then again, I've been waiting for a Julia biopic for some time now. I do very much appreciate that they are two true stories, and it's also the first time blogging, especially in it's nascent stages of life (ah, the early 2000's!), have been depicted on the big screen, at least that I can recall. So watching Julie receive her first blog comment and realizing that someone out there is actually reading her thoughts was a cool thing to see. See other people come home and take solace in cooking dinner was a sight rarely seen on tv. Harried mothers, take-out and food scenes altogether missing from movies and television are much more common these days. The short answer is that the movie isn't an amazing piece of cinema, but you will undoubtedly be entertained. If you like food (and since you're reading this blog I'm guessing you do), if you like Julia Child, and if you like underdogs and love stories, you'll like this movie. Simple as that.
-Laura
Have you heard about Food, INC.? Like many documentaries it tends to screen in limited release and is disappearing from most theaters here in NYC by the first week in August, but it may just be making its way to your town if you live elsewhere. I finally made my way to the theater this weekend and have to say that the filmmakers get my ringing endorsement. Granted, watching this movie for me is like preaching to the converted, but preaching is exactly what the film avoids doing. Unlike the many films and documentaries out there that take a stab at "big food", this one manages to do less jabbing and rumormongering and more informing with slick graphics and great interviews. It follows the trail of food from where we see it in the supermarket and picks up the crumbs all the way to the farm and congress. From there the trail becomes a warpath leading to the companies that force poor farmers to use genetically modified corn and seeds, or suffer the consequences of millions of dollars and several years in court.
It's an especially powerful film for anyone with little ones at home. It addresses, among other things, the story of Barbara Kowalcyk, a mom turned food health activist following the death of her young son from e. coli bacteria contracted from a hamburger made with tainted beef. Her battle lays the foundation for a story built on the fact that food safety is less regulated by the minute because of the intense clout and money that "big food" manufacturers bring to the table. You'll give it a second thought when buying chicken breasts, pork chops or steaks for your family at the supermarket when you know of the overwhelming chances that your purchases are tainted with deadly bacteria.
There's actually a lot more ground covered in the film that finally explains in a clear and calm tone why we should be wary of these mass market products. The movie makes a case for our concern being more than just "damn the man" hippie ideals. It shows the twisted ways in which farming, immigration and health are all affected by the food system, and how without alternative means of food production we'll all soon be eating meals that come from the same 4 producers that use the same feed, infected animals and the same high fructose corn syrup (pretty much everything in your supermarket already comes from the same 6 companies). I'm not really doing the movie justice, since it did more than present arguments, also laying out a few alternatives. One farmer in Virginia cares for his free-range animals and hand slaughters them himself, grass feeding his cows, pigs and chickens the way nature intended (none of these animals are meant to feed on corn; they're all herbivores). His animals' legs don't buckle under the weight of overgrown breasts or overweight midsections. The farmer points out that the FDA considers his family run farm unsanitary because his carcasses are not cleaned with ammonia, like all factory farm meats are.
In short, the movie is a tremendous piece of work for an argument that can seem preachy and difficult to understand (I promise to get off my soapbox any minute now). I was relieved to see that the movie ends with suggestions on what you can do about supporting healthy food choices for yourself and your family, and that I already did everything on the list (buying produce only at farmers markets, joining a CSA and eating primarily at home, among others). So if you're hungry for change, take a look at Food, INC., or visit their website and watch the trailer here. They have great tips on greening your child's school lunches as well. I'll be back tomorrow with a great pesticide-free recipe and a soapbox-free post. In the meantime, get to the farmers market and make yourself and your family a great dinner!
-Laura
