Julie & Julia
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The Story
Working from books by each of the title characters, writer/director Nora Ephron (“Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail”) tells the side-by-side stories of Julie Powell (Amy Adams) and Julia Child (Meryl Streep) as each finds joy and success through cooking and writing about cooking.
In 2002, Julie Powell works as a government secretary and has just moved into an apartment in Queens with her husband Eric (Chris Messina). She feels life is passing her by and decides to do something about it by starting a blog in which she will describe her attempt to prepare all of the 500-and-some recipes in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in a single year.
Meanwhile (or “prewhile,” I guess), Julia Child has just fallen in love with Paris in the late 1940s, where her U.S. diplomat husband Paul works at the embassy. Unsure what to do with her time, she eventually follows her love of eating French food into a love of cooking, taking classes at the famed Cordon Bleu cooking school.
The story flips back and forth between Julie’s growing success as a blogging writer and stressed out cook and Julia’s unending success at being Julia. Julie’s quest stresses her marriage to the point of breaking. Julia’s marriage to Paul is her rock, though her efforts to publish her cookbook and constant moves around Europe often challenge her life-loving spirit.
Content Issues
Some harsh language is used, including God’s name for swearing and the f-word. Married couples make out, but not explicitly. Much wine is consumed. Lobsters are boiled (steamed?) to death.
Worldview Talking Points
It seems like more and more kids are digging cooking and food. It might be that Food Network programming is mostly safe and fun family viewing, or it could be that cooking is something grown up that kids can jump in and try for themselves. Without a doubt, exploratory cooking can be a creative, servant-oriented, life-giving, and challenging hobby.
I don’t know if that will be enough to attract young foodies to this dual biopic of Julia Child (in the 40s and 50s) and Julie Powell (in this decade). It’s got the flavor of a romantic comedy/drama, but most the action involves talking and relationship issues, along with the foodstuffs. Having said that, Meryl Streep’s Julia Child is someone easy to hang out with.
The film does present some interesting worldview perspectives. We hope a few of the following questions might engage your child in a helpful conversation if he or she sees the film.
- Do you enjoy cooking? Would you like to do more of it?
- What are some of your favorite cookbooks? Recipes? Cooking shows? Foods?
- Did you know anything about Julia Child before you saw this film? How about Julie Powell?
- Would you ever want to write a blog like Julie’s, describing your adventures in doing something you are passionate about for a year of your life? If so, what kinds of things would you like to try?
- What about Julia Child’s story surprised you? What did you like about her as a person? [Parent: She married in her late 30s as a virgin. She seemed both fearless and joyfull all the time. She was devoted to her husband and he to her.]
- Both Julie and Julia worked really hard to do what they were doing well—even when nobody else was watching. Is there anything you’re motivated to work on like that?
- Do you think God cares how hard we work at things we love—and things we don’t? Why or why not? [Parent: Think about reading Colossians 3:23-24 together.]
- Who do you know that really seems to love what he or she does and works really hard to do it well?
- What do you think it means to do your best for God’s glory? How does He get glory when we do our best at anything?
- What differences did you notice between the two marriages? What differences did you notice in how the two women treated their husbands? How their husbands treated them back?
- Which woman would you rather be more like? Why?
- Cooking is an art that can be done to God’s glory—and as an act of service to other people. Which of these two women do you think was most interested in serving others? [Parent: Think about reading Romans 12:10-12 together and talking about how different that attitude is from Julie’s.]
- Who do you serve on a regular basis—and how do you serve them?
- Who serves you?
- What do you want for dinner tonight?
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