Two inspirational women within one yummy film ...

I was feeling a little down today. It happens. We all feel this way. I think it somehow fuels us to either give up or dig our heels into what we want a little harder. For me, whenever I feel this way, I have to get inspired. Often times that means reading a beautiful piece of literature or watching a brilliant performance. Today, I decided that I would go see Julie and Julia. I would fill my void with what I knew would be a glorious performance by Meryl Streep. I was absolutely right.

I’ve heard mixed things about the film as a whole. I never read reviews. Never. It’s just not my thing. I figure that I have spent my entire life not wanting people to tell me what I think and how I should feel, so why would I do that with what I love the most, film. It’s completely nonsensical to me. Not to mention that art, in its many forms, is completely subjective, so what you like may not be what I like. I’d rather appreciate the risks the artists take in portraying these roles and forget about what critics have to say about them. I’ve climbed off my high horse. Ahem, therefore I paid no heed to people’s disappointment in Amy Adams’ storyline and instead, went in desiring to be inspired by Meryl Streep and her portrayal of an exuberant and simply delightful woman, Julia Child.

I got exactly what I wanted. I wanted to hug and squeeze Julia, I mean Meryl, I mean Julia, I mean … the minute she came on screen. It was impossible for me not to laugh each moment that she was present while clapping my hands. Yeah, I’m that person. At least I don’t repeat an obviously quotable moment like, “Bon Appetite.” Yes, I’m talking to you bald man sitting in front of me.

What I liked most about the film was that there were so many moments in her performance where it was just play. There were so many moments where I thought, “God, that must have been so much fun filming. They are having so much fun playing off of one another. There is so much happening in the giggles, the silly smirks, the comfort in their body language that makes them seem like they’ve been married for twenty some odd years.” Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep were dynamite together. Their relationship and energy exploded within the storyline leaving me not only wanting more of them, but to leave the theatre and know everything there is to know about Julia and Paul Child. Their fantastic relationship and collaboration as inspirations to one another makes any person long for that dynamic, both personally and creatively.

I also have to say that I thought Amy Adams was great too. She was great at playing an unlikable character. I think we forget, as an audience, that those characters are important too, and that the actor is doing a brilliant job if we find ourselves disliking them. Whenever she destroyed something in the kitchen I was openly delighted. When her raspberry swirl thing (I don’t know what it was called. It was a fluffy dessert that looked fancy and I wanted to eat it.) fell on the city sidewalk and no one would be able to enjoy the fruits of her labor, I was equally overjoyed. People don’t always want to play the “bitch.” Amy Adams did, she did so without apologizing for it, and created a great performance because of it.

Back to Meryl Streep. I feel somewhat cliché admitting she’s my favorite actress. She’s EVERYONE’S favorite actress. Just like I feel cliché admitting that The Clash is my favorite punk band. They’re EVERYONE’S favorite punk band. But they are all so good that they DESERVE to be EVERYONE’S favorite artist. Meryl Streep has single handedly created some of my favorite lady performances of all time and has done so with such variety that I want to snuggle my face into all of my DVDs that have her in it. Out of Africa (I want to own a farm in Africa because of her) Kramer vs. Kramer (Never thought I would find such pleasure in watching a deadbeat mom. That was truly an unlikable character that was made into an Oscar worthy performance.) and my all time favorite, Postcards from the Edge. I can’t handle how funny she is. “Relax. They’re blanks. Asshole.” Here’s my FAVORITE scene from the film. Enjoy. You have no choice, really.



I’ve written a short novel about how much I love Meryl Streep. I’ll bring it to a close by saying, I hope that I have as much fun and joy in my life as Meryl has when she’s performing. I hope that I have as much fun and joy in my life as Julia Child did loving her husband and cooking her French cuisine. I hope that I continue to realize that I am having as much fun and joy in my life, living my life, right now, even when I’m not exactly where I want to be.