JULIE & JULIA

RYAN: We’ve finally seen one of our most anticipated movies of the summer, “Julie & Julia,” which stars two of the world’s best actresses, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

CAROLINE: I have been so excited for this movie and am thrilled to report that it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it, laughed many times and even misted up once or twice. It’s about fifteen minutes too long; but I couldn’t tell you what scenes I would have cut out because they were all so great. Nothing felt extraneous and every scene furthered the story.

RYAN: It’s a good movie that’s well cast and acted, and Nora Ephron is a meticulous director, but I feel like this movie is the very definition of a rental.

CAROLINE: Gasp! How can you even say that?

RYAN: I’m not saying it’s a bad movie; I’m just saying there wasn’t really the drama or intensity to make this a must see on the big screen.

CAROLINE: Well, it’s not a drama, so why does it have to be dramatic? It’s based on two real-life women, and they kept it true to life. You see this movie for a great story and phenomenal acting. It doesn’t have to have a big climax or special effects to make it worthy of seeing on the big screen.

RYAN: I just thought it was a little boring. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere, or have some conflict, but it didn’t. Nothing dramatic happened in these women’s lives, so why are they getting the big screen treatment? Just because Meryl Streep agreed to do it?

CAROLINE: Well, if you don’t think revolutionizing the way we cook in America, and being the original celebrity chef is enough of a story, then I guess you’re right. I loved the Julia Child part of the movie, maybe even more than the modern-day stuff with Amy Adams. It’s a movie about a personal journey for both women, trying to find your life’s meaning, its purpose, all while maintaining a successful marriage. That’s good enough of a story for me. I guess it’s a chick flick in that way.

RYAN: You know I love chick flicks, but I just wanted more story in this movie. Their struggles don’t warrant a big-screen adaptation to me. Having said that, I loved the costumes and they portrayed 1960s Paris very well. Sadly for Amy Adams, she has to look dreadful in this.

CAROLINE: Ugh, that wig!

RYAN: It was terrible gym teacher wig. And I kind of got irritated after a while by Meryl’s Julia Child voice. It felt gimmicky.

CAROLINE: Honey, that’s the way Julia Child talked! What’s Meryl supposed to do, drop the voice halfway through the movie? I thought she did it very well, and she made me laugh hard. I didn’t know anything about Julia Child prior to seeing this movie, but she seemed to be a person who was full of life and joie de vivre, and I think Meryl captured that so well. I also loved her relationship with her husband as portrayed by Stanley Tucci. They were great together, and almost made me cry a couple of times.

RYAN: Their chemistry is really great, as we know from “The Devil Wears Prada,” but I enjoyed the Amy Adams story line more. I connected more to it, and I love that it took place in NYC. The guy who plays her husband, however, wasn’t cute enough and he chewed funny.

CAROLINE: I noticed that! He totally chewed with his mouth open. Gross.

RYAN: I would have liked some better man candy in that role.

CAROLINE: I just think this movie was written and directed brilliantly. It’s two different stories about women in different eras, but it weaves back and forth between the two effortlessly. And I was worried about liking one story much more than the other, but I found that whatever story was on screen at that moment, I loved it. And then before you could get bored and yearn for the other one, it would switch. It was perfectly executed.

RYAN: I will give it this – I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 7 years old, and I’ve never been hungrier for meat than I was during this movie. Watching them prepare and eat all this delicious food was so appetizing that you really have to get refreshments when seeing this movie.

— BOTTOM LINE —

CAROLINE: I loved this movie. It’s just delightful and fun, and I learned a lot about Julia Child. I think what Julie Powell did in cooking Julia’s 524 recipes is ambitious and awesome and slightly insane, but totally worthy of a movie. I really hope Nora Ephron has a hit with this one.

RYAN: I loved the originality of combining two separate books and life stories into one movie and weaving them in and out seamlessly. It didn’t feel hodge-podgey at all. The performances are great, and it’s very well done, but I didn’t get as emotional as you did about it. I think I would have enjoyed it just as much watching it at home as I did in the theater.

CAROLINE: Ladies, this one’s for us. Don’t miss it!

— RATING —