At a certain point in the wonderful new movie Julie & Julia, there is a plot twist so shocking the audience gasps. Julia Child does something that seems so totally out of character that even on the way out, people were still shaking their heads. “How could she?” Well, that’s one mystery I can solve. I was right there in the middle of it.Food writer Russ Parsons tells all:
Julie, Julia and me: Now it can be told (Los Angeles Times)
A related post
Julie & Julia
comments: 5
I'm so glad you wrote about this and gave your stamp of approval. Julia Childs has demi-god status in my life. We all used to gather around the little black-and-white TV to watch her -- or rather to just listen to her voice.
Later, after having lived in France for several years, I read her (bad) biography and realized that she and I had been enchanted by the same temptress.
I haven't seen the movie but I did find and started reading Julie Powell's blog just before the year was over and then read the book. What I find surprising is that those watching the movie would be shocked the Julia didn't like the blog. Why would she? Like Russ Parsons says, Julie basically whines her way through Julia's masterpiece and in my opinion, does a lot of short-cutting and fudging along the way, in essence trivializing the work. I also don't understand the "two women who found themselves through cooking" line (from Russ Parsons and I've seen it other places as well)- this may be true in Julia's case (although I would say she found herself through allowing herself to pursue her passion to its fullest extent) but Julie found herself through blogging (writing), not cooking. Sorry for the length of this and I hope I did not smoke or spit too much :)
I remember seeing Julia Child on “educational television” when I was a kid. When my kids were young, we used to watch JC (the show that began with piano music and ended with a big dinner gathering). We would applaud every time she said “butter.”
When I read about JC’s reaction to Julie Powell’s blog, before seeing the movie or the blog, it reminded me of how close encounters with idols often don’t work out well. When I looked at the blog, I understood.
Mari, you’re fine, and you'd be fine in any NYC subway station too (I took those guidelines from the old signs).
Did you know that Julia's TV kitchen is in the Smithsonian and that some people leave sticks of butter there as tribute to her when they go visit? I remember watching her show once when she was testing some new piece of kitchen equipment and she couldn't get it to work right so she tossed it over her shoulder and said something like "So much for that". You could hear it bouncing around on the floor behind her. What a gal.
Yes, I’ve read about the kitchen (it has a role in the film too). The kitchen wasn’t yet there last time my family visited the Smithsonian.
Julia Child’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious, aren’t they?
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