It’s sappy, but it works

My hardback copy (16th printing) of Mastering the Art ... was bought so that I wouldn’t have to contend with the stains on the paperback when I wanted to read rather than cook. (Alas, there's no recipe in it for humble pie.) So when Julie and Julia was released earlier in the summer, I was sniffy. Julia’s story was pretty darned interesting. Why gussy it up with some poor sap’s blog about a senseless self-imposed challenge? On Saturday we were five minutes late for Parnassus, and the cinema is immovable in a very un-Italian way. If you’re late, you don’t get in. So we cursed our luck and sat about moping for a bit, before The Squeeze said she’d be OK with seeing Julie and Julia again. Well, what the heck, we were down there and all expectant like, so why not. It was lovely. Yes, of course it is sappy. Yes, of course it leaves out some good stuff from Julia’s life. (Fortunately it also leaves out much of Julie’s “real” life.) Yes, some of the transitions between Julie and Julia are contrived and don’t work. But the final one, in Julia’s kitchen, is brilliantly well done. Overall, a really good film. I was wrong. I should apologize.

[Rating:3.5]