ReWatch- "Julie and Julia" (2009)

I was required to watch Julie and Julia for a film class I am in this semester. Required. That’s just a harsh sounding word. I was supposed to watch it. Required sounds like I had to do it and didn’t want to. And believe me I wanted to.

After the screening, my friend turned to me and said, “I forgot how much I loved that movie.” And it’s true. I forgot. Maybe it was because I was too young to really understand the film. A woman in a job she hates her job, living with a wonderful husband who she treats like crap sometimes, trying to do something that matters. No I am not married, nor do I hate my job. I’m not quite old enough to have any job I hate. That comes after I graduate.

But what I missed when I was 16 was the last part. Trying to do something that matters. Julie felt like she was swimming in an endless ocean wondering what the hell she was doing there. Did anyone even read her blog? Was anyone listening? She took a chance every day she tried a new recipe and every day she tried to write another blog. She had a history of failures- an unfinished book that never got published, a lost job that could have “made her life”. At that point in her life, nothing seemed for certain. Julia was the same way. She got to Paris and even though she adored the city and the people, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. She wanted to do something that mattered. So she started her cookbook. And more then 8 years later she got published and changed the world of cooking forever. She tried something and after so many failures and redrafts and rewrites, she finally got it.

Life is a challenge. Most of the time you have absolutely no idea what you are doing and no idea what will happen. Kind of like cooking. I am no cook. Not even a pupil. I should be banned from all kitchens in this universe for the horrific things I do with food. But when I do attempt to cook, I don’t know what I am doing. How do you whip something? You take a chance, without knowing what will come out of the oven in the end, but you try any way.

That’s where I am in life. I have ideas about how I want my life to look. Married, children, some sort of job in writing. And I have some plans set. Journalism degree. But beyond that I am taking a chance. Swimming in an endless ocean of the unknown. And it kinda sucks sometimes. I want to throw a temper tantrum when something doesn’t work out the way I want it to. I would like to give it all up when I feel down. I ask myself, why am I doing this again? And then I have moments when the duck looks exactly the way it looks in the cookbook. When I can poach an egg on the first try.

Life isn’t a science. And neither is cooking, though Julia Child may disagree with me. This movie teaches us that if you do what you love, the rest will follow. Even if you feel hopelessly lost and confused sometimes. You gotta take those hat classes and deal with evil cooking instructor ladies who don’t like you and think you’re not worth it. Because you will figure it out.

The film is endearing, warm-hearted, and lovable-just like Julia Child. You can’t help but smile and giggle at her sweet and naive nature. The film takes on her persona. Her ability to always see the joy in life. And it makes you want that too.  The acting is exquisite as it should be with Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Adams. I also realized that the guy from my new favorite TV show, The Mindy Project, is in this too- Chris Messina. He plays Amy’s husband who is just adorable. And that’s exactly what this movie is- adorable. I need to buy it on DVD so I can feel like Julia any time I want to. This may require me finding someone to cook those delicious foods for me too.