I've always enjoyed the subject of cooking and unsurprisingly also enjoyed the subject of blogging, so a movie which combines both should be right up my street. And to be honest I really enjoyed Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia" the story of Julie Powell who decided to blog about her experiences of working through Julia Child's cook book combining it with the story of how Julia Child came to write such an influential cook book. But whilst Ephron manages to make these two stories interweave and become entertaining as it flits between Julie's growing obsession with cooking and Julia's attempts to become a proficient cook many years earlier it does end up feeling very manufactured and in a way incomplete thanks to the way the stories interweave. That doesn't stop it from being enjoyable and Ephron manages to give "Julie & Julia" an almost romantic drama feel, but it doesn't end up being anything more than a well made, enjoyable movie.

In post war France, Julia Child (Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia!) the wife of a diplomat moves to Paris and looks for something to fill her days. After trying hat making and learning to play Bridge she finds her passion when she attends cooking school and ends up writing the cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Over 50 years later and Julie Powell (Amy Adams - Night at the Museum 2) is about to turn 30 and is looking for direction in her life as she struggles with a less than demanding job. With the encouragement of her husband she sets about working her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and blogging about her experiences.

So "Julie & Julia" is basically two stories intertwined in such a way we are lead to see parallels between the lives of Julie and Julia. So on one hand you have Julie who immerses herself in cooking and blogging till it becomes and obsession whilst you have the story of Julia who also immerses herself in cooking and writing. As such the movie flicks between the two stories as we watch Julia Child trying to find something to do having moved to Paris with her diplomat husband whilst Julie, having moved to a less than impressive new apartment and disliking her job, also seeks something worthwhile to do. And so it goes on with both stories interweaving and paralleling each other although it all seems so manufactured as something which happened to Julia almost 50 years earlier happens to Julie in the present. It lacks a touch of believability about it and feels forced in trying to find parallels even if it does make it interesting.

But that feeling forced is just part of a bigger issue as whilst the story of Julie trying to cook and blog her way through a cook book is interesting especially as it becomes an obsession which threatens her marriage it's not substantial enough to make half of a movie. And at the same time the story of Julia Child and how she came to write such an influential cook book isn't enough to fill up half a movie. That doesn't mean it's not very interesting but it's not the most dramatic and as such the drama and issues that she encountered all seem so forced. As such it often feels like Ephron has had to make something more out of a story which isn't that dramatic and it makes it at times feel a little false.

Now I don't like to give important spoilers away but in this case I have to and so if you don't want to know something skip this paragraph. So with these two stories interweaving it naturally leads that at some point Julie will meet Julia, everything about the movie is built in such a way for that to happen. But it doesn't and whilst it is true that Julie never met Julia it makes the movie feel incomplete, without a satisfying ending. And as such it feels like a let down that when the credits roll what we expect and want to happen doesn't.

Now whilst I have never seen Julia Child and can't say how good Meryl Streep's performance of her is in a like for like way I have to say that Streep is brilliant throughout. Right from the outset Streep creates this character, this woman who almost seems to be permanently drunk with her over the top accent and general fun loving attitude but it works and is one of those cases where you're not watching an actor but this person. As such every single scene which involves Meryl Streep is just brilliant and is part of the reason why the Julia Child side of the movie remains so entertaining despite not actually being that dramatic. And because Streep is so brilliant it means that Amy Adams is over shadowed as Julie Powell, delivering a nice performance which makes this obsessed woman quite loveable but never being anything more than an actress playing a role. And the same goes for Chris Messina as Eric Powell and Stanley Tucci as Paul Child although Tucci is amusing as Julia's very patient and understanding husband.

What this all boils down to is that "Julie & Julia" is a fun movie and genuinely enjoyable especially with Meryl Streep delivering a stunning performance. But it all feels quite forced as if Nora Ephron has tried to find drama from two storylines which aren't in fact that dramatic and also tried to find parallels which aren't always there.