Unable to resist the temptations of a bottle of red wine, harissa (yes, we're still addicted), and one of the best salads you've ever eaten (romaine lettuce, raisins, roasted walnuts, apple slices, lemon vinaigrette, Swiss gruyère, and some other ingredients that escape me at the moment), Napoleon immediately assumed lateral decubitus position, and her fate was sealed. I, on the other hand, had no intention of achieving a state of rapid eye movement without first witnessing the incomparable Merryl Streep attempt to revive the late Julia Child in character.
While the premise of the movie was incredibly clever, with not one but TWO true stories running simultaneously, the dual biopic's downfall was its lack of plot. Yes, it was nice to see Julia Child overcome several obstacles on her way to getting published, and yes, I was sad to see that in Julie's quest to find herself she temporarily lost her husband, but at no point during the movie was I enraptured by drama or truth-is-stranger-than-fiction revelations. Honestly, I'd much rather just read the original blog, post by post.
All in all, a movie like this just reached out to the wrong audience. It would have been relatively successful if it were an indie flick catered toward the foodie crowd. However, in trying to appease the masses, it diluted the actual star and the common denominator between the two women: the food. I think Napoleon would agree. After all, she did find it to be somewhat of a snoozer.
Rating: 2/5 thumbs up (I know, I know...that doesn't make much sense)
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