Julie & Julia...

...is a film that I watched today. It's not the greatest movie I have seen, but it's definitely good entertainment for foodies like myself.

The film depicts events in the life of  Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) - a young writer trapped in a rather unpleasant job at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's call center, where she answers telephone calls from victims of the September 11 attacks, as well as members of the general public calling to complain about the LMDC's controversial plans for rebuilding the World Trade Center. To enliven her dreary life, she aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking,  during a single year, a challenge she described and documented on a blog.

Woven into her story is the story of popular American chef Julia Child's (played by Meryl Streep) time in Paris, in the 1950s, in which she learns about French cooking. The plot highlights similarities in the challenges encountered by both Julie and Julia. Both women get much support from their husbands, although at one point Powell's husband is fed up with her excessive devotion to her hobby and leaves her for a few days.

Eventually, Julie's blog is highlighted in a story published in the New York Times, after which her project finally begins to receive the attention of journalists, literary agents, and publishers, as well as a dismissive response from Child herself. After Julia's book is initially rejected by Houghton Mifflin, it is eventually accepted and published by Alfred A. Knopf. The last scene shows Julia Child receiving a first print of her cookbook and celebrating the event with her husband.

Enjoy!