🍳Julie & Julia (2009) Review – Finding Yourself Through the Joy of Cooking

A warm vintage-style illustration inspired by Julie & Julia — capturing two women finding joy in cooking and storytelling

🎥 Film Overview

Detail	Information
Title	Julie & Julia
Director	Nora Ephron
Screenplay	Nora Ephron
Based on	Two memoirs: My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme; Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
Genre	Biography, Drama, Comedy
Release Date	August 7, 2009 (US)
Runtime	123 minutes (2h 3m)
Country	United States
Language	English, French
Cast	Meryl Streep (Julia Child), Amy Adams (Julie Powell), Stanley Tucci (Paul Child), Chris Messina (Eric Powell), Linda Emond (Simone Beck), Jane Lynch (Dorothy McWilliams)
Production Company	Columbia Pictures
Cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt
Music	Alexandre Desplat
Rating	PG-13
Box Office	$129.5 million worldwide
Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy/Musical (Meryl Streep); Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Meryl Streep); BAFTA nomination for Best Actress (Meryl Streep)
Note	Nora Ephron's final film; she passed away in 2012

📖 Plot Summary

What if you enrolled in cooking school at 40? What if you kept a daily cooking blog for a year that no one read?

Most would say, "It's too late," or "What's the point?" But the two women in Julie & Julia didn't listen to any of that. And those choices changed their lives—and the lives of countless others.

The film alternates between two parallel stories separated by fifty years but connected by a shared passion for food, self-discovery, and the courage to begin again.

In 1950s Paris, Julia Child (Meryl Streep) is the enthusiastic, towering wife of an American diplomat. Bored and directionless in her new city, she decides on a whim to enroll at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu cooking school—where she's the only woman in a classroom full of skeptical male chefs. Despite initial dismissal and the formidable Madame Brassart's disapproval, Julia's relentless passion and infectious joy for French cuisine cannot be contained. Together with her friends Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, she embarks on an ambitious ten-year project to write a comprehensive French cookbook for American home cooks—a book that would revolutionize American cooking forever.

In early 2000s New York, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is a frustrated 30-year-old government worker stuck in a dead-end job answering phone calls in a cubicle in Queens. While her friends have become successful lawyers, writers, and executives, Julie feels like she's treading water, going nowhere. Her supportive husband Eric loves her, but that alone can't fill the emptiness she feels. Desperate for purpose and direction, Julie decides to start a blog documenting an ambitious challenge: cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in just 365 days—while working full-time and living in a tiny apartment with a problematic kitchen.

Through kitchen disasters, personal doubts, marital tensions, and the gradual discovery of an audience that cares about her project, both women find that cooking becomes more than just preparing food—it becomes an act of recovering life's balance, purpose, and self-esteem.

🌸 Key Themes

It's Never Too Late to Start

The film's most powerful message is that age is no barrier to discovering your passion and pursuing it with everything you have. Julia Child didn't enroll in cooking school until she was nearly 40—an age when many people believe their paths are already set. She didn't publish her groundbreaking cookbook until 49. She didn't start her revolutionary television show until even later. Yet she became one of the most influential culinary figures in American history, proving that "late bloomer" is not a limitation but simply a different timeline. The film celebrates the courage it takes to begin something new when conventional wisdom says you've missed your chance.

The Transformative Power of Passion

Both Julia and Julie discover that when you do something you genuinely love—something that makes you forget time, that fills you with pure joy even when it's difficult—it transforms not just your days but your entire sense of self. Julia's booming laughter and uninhibited delight in mastering beurre blanc sauce, Julie's tears and triumphs over lobster thermidor—these aren't just about cooking. They're about finding that rare thing: work that doesn't feel like work because it aligns with who you truly are. The film suggests that this kind of passionate engagement is available to everyone, regardless of age or circumstance, if we're brave enough to pursue it.

Consistency Over Perfection

Julie's blog journey illustrates a profound truth about any creative or ambitious endeavor: showing up matters more than being brilliant. Her first blog comment came from her mother. Her early attempts at French cooking were disasters. But she posted every single day, documented her failures alongside her successes, and gradually built an audience that cared. The film champions the unglamorous work of daily commitment—doing the thing even when you're tired, even when it seems pointless, even when no one's watching. This persistence, not talent or luck, is what ultimately transforms both women's lives.

The Support of Loving Partners

Both Julia and Julie are blessed with remarkably supportive husbands who believe in their dreams even when others don't. Stanley Tucci's Paul Child is Julia's biggest cheerleader, celebrating her victories and supporting her through rejections. Chris Messina's Eric Powell encourages Julie's blog project even when it consumes their tiny apartment and tests their marriage. The film quietly argues that having someone who sees your potential and supports your becoming is one of life's greatest gifts—and that good partnerships make space for both people to grow.

💭 Personal Reflection

Everyone wants to be happy. But when, exactly, do we become happy?

At this point in my life—perhaps later than I expected—I've discovered something: I'm happy when I'm drawing or writing. I'm not particularly good at either. But I do them to the extent that I can. And in those moments, no one can invade that space. It belongs entirely to me. Even drawing a single line on canvas brings me satisfaction. Some people find this joy playing an instrument. Others find it singing, or sewing beautiful clothes, or baking bread.

But as we live our lives, we're often too caught up in the busyness of survival to notice what brings us joy. Or we don't know what to do, where to start. Or we think we're too old now, that the moment has passed. Everyone has their reasons for not beginning, and I can't dismiss those reasons as mere excuses—they're real obstacles, real limitations.

But in the midst of all those reasons, there are still people who create their own dreams and move toward them. People who find happiness in the journey itself, even when the path is difficult and exhausting. People like Julie and Julia.

In the end, Julie and Julia ask us a simple but profound question: What fills your life? What is that time of happiness that no one can invade, that belongs only to you? Don't we all need the courage to pick up our own brush or pen when we think it's too late?

늦었다고 생각할 때, 우리는 자신만의 붓을 들거나 펜을 잡을 용기가 필요하지 않을까요?

(A reflection in my native Korean—because some truths about finding your passion feel truer in the language of your heart.)

🎬 What Makes This Film Special

Nora Ephron's Warm, Witty Direction

Julie & Julia represents the final film from writer-director Nora Ephron, and it's a fitting capstone to her career of celebrating women's stories with intelligence, humor, and heart. Ephron expertly weaves two timelines together, creating a conversation across decades between two women who never met but profoundly influenced each other. Her screenplay crackles with wit while remaining emotionally honest about the frustrations, self-doubts, and small triumphs that accompany any ambitious undertaking. She understands that comedy and genuine emotion aren't opposites—they're partners in telling stories about real human experience.

Meryl Streep's Career-Defining Performance

Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child is nothing short of magnificent—exuberant, warm, and utterly captivating. She nails Julia's distinctive voice (that unforgettable warbling soprano), her physical mannerisms (the towering height, the dramatic gestures), and most importantly, her infectious joy for life and cooking. But Streep goes beyond mere impersonation to capture something essential about Julia's spirit: her refusal to be diminished, her genuine delight in pleasure, her complete lack of pretension despite her accomplishments. This performance earned Streep her 16th Academy Award nomination and won her a Golden Globe, but more importantly, it makes you fall in love with Julia Child all over again. Every moment Streep is on screen radiates pure happiness—you can't help but smile watching her.

Amy Adams' Grounded, Relatable Julie

Amy Adams faces the difficult task of holding her own opposite Streep's powerhouse performance, and she succeeds by playing Julie Powell with complete authenticity. Adams doesn't try to make Julie perfect or consistently likable—she shows us a woman who gets frustrated, argues with her husband, wallows in self-pity, and sometimes acts petty or self-absorbed. But these flaws make Julie real and relatable. We've all felt stuck, inadequate, left behind by our peers. Adams' performance tells us it's okay to be imperfect, to struggle, to not have everything figured out—what matters is that you keep trying.

The Chemistry of Both Couples

While the two stories never intersect in reality, the parallel love stories are beautifully rendered. Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep create one of cinema's most charming married couples—their affection, mutual respect, and genuine partnership feel utterly authentic. Similarly, Chris Messina and Amy Adams portray a contemporary marriage that feels lived-in and real, complete with tensions and tender moments. Both couples demonstrate that great relationships support individual dreams while creating shared joy.

Alexandre Desplat's Joyful Score

French composer Alexandre Desplat creates a score that's unapologetically, stereotypically French in the best possible way—featuring accordions, bright orchestrations, and a sense of joi de vivre that perfectly captures both the Parisian setting and Julia's ebullient spirit. The music is sunny, upbeat, and charming without ever becoming cloying, supporting the film's themes of passion and discovery with sophisticated lightness.

Stephen Goldblatt's Gorgeous Cinematography

Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt makes both food and locations look absolutely delicious. Mid-century Paris is rendered as a romantic dream of golden light and cobblestone streets, while Julie's cramped Queens apartment above a pizza parlor has its own gritty charm. But the real stars are the food sequences—buttery sauces, perfectly roasted chickens, delicate pastries—all shot with such loving attention that you'll leave the theater hungry and inspired.

🎥 Behind the Scenes

Did You Know?

The real Julie Powell started her blog project in 2002, and it genuinely became a sensation after being featured in The New York Times. Her blog was eventually published as the book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, which became the basis for half of this film.

Interestingly, the real Julia Child wasn't particularly fond of Julie Powell's project when she learned about it before her death in 2004. Julia reportedly felt that Julie was "using my name for self-promotion" and dismissed the blog as a publicity stunt. The film tactfully addresses this tension in a brief scene but chooses to focus on the spiritual connection between the two women rather than dwelling on Julia's disapproval. Nora Ephron's screenplay brilliantly weaves their stories together to create a cross-generational narrative of inspiration regardless of whether Julia herself appreciated Julie's homage.

Julia Child revolutionized American home cooking with her 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which made French cuisine—then unfamiliar and intimidating to most Americans—accessible for home cooks. Her PBS television show The French Chef, which debuted in 1963, made her America's first celebrity chef and remains legendary for its warmth, educational value, and Julia's delightful on-screen mishaps and improvisation.

This was Nora Ephron's final film before her death from leukemia in 2012 at age 71. She completed the screenplay and direction while already ill, though few knew it. The film stands as a beautiful final statement from a filmmaker who spent her career celebrating women finding themselves, falling in love, and pursuing their dreams with wit and warmth.

Meryl Streep spent months preparing for the role, studying Julia Child's television programs, practicing her distinctive voice, and learning cooking techniques. She visited Julia's actual kitchen, which is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution, to understand how Julia moved in that space. The attention to detail in Streep's performance—from Julia's particular way of holding a knife to her distinctive laugh—reflects this deep preparation.

🎯 Who Should Watch This Film

✅ Anyone who loves cooking, food films, or culinary history
✅ People seeking stories about self-discovery and personal growth
✅ Bloggers, writers, or creators who need inspiration to keep going
✅ Those who want to start something new but need courage
✅ Anyone who believes you can discover your passion at any age
✅ Fans of Meryl Streep's transformative performances
✅ Lovers of Nora Ephron's warm, witty filmmaking style
✅ Those seeking comfort films about the power of persistence
✅ Anyone interested in Julia Child's remarkable life story

🌍 Where to Watch (2025)

Streaming: Max, Hulu (with Starz add-on), fuboTV, Paramount+ with Showtime
Rent/Buy: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Physical Media: Available on DVD and Blu-ray via Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Availability may vary by region. Check JustWatch for current streaming options in your location.

📝 Final Thoughts

Julie & Julia isn't simply a cooking movie—it's a life recipe guide that offers warm encouragement to anyone who's ever felt stuck, purposeless, or convinced they've missed their moment.

What makes this film enduringly beloved is its refusal to treat either woman's journey as trivial. The film takes seriously the idea that cooking 524 recipes or writing a cookbook or starting a blog matters—not because these things will necessarily make you famous or wealthy, but because pursuing something you love with dedication and joy is how we become fully ourselves. Both Julie and Julia transform their lives not through dramatic reinvention but through daily commitment to work that brings them genuine pleasure.

More than fifteen years after its release, the film's message feels even more relevant. In an age of hustle culture and constant comparison via social media, Julie & Julia offers permission to simply begin—to do the thing you love even if you're not an expert, even if no one's watching, even if you think you're too old or too late. The film reminds us that consistency matters more than brilliance, that passion is its own reward, and that it's never too late to pick up the pen, the paintbrush, the whisk, or whatever tool your particular dream requires.

As Julia Child herself would say: Bon appétit! Start cooking up your life today.

💬 Join the Conversation

Have you watched Julie & Julia? What passion project have you been putting off because you think it's "too late"? Have you ever started something new that transformed your life? What brings you that uninterruptible happiness that belongs only to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below—I'd love to hear about the dreams you're cooking up in your own kitchen, literal or metaphorical.

🎬 More from Cinematic Sanctuaries

If you loved the healing and inspiration of Julie & Julia, explore more films that celebrate finding yourself:

More Nora Ephron Films:

• Sleepless in Seattle - Her romantic masterpiece about hope and second chances
• When Harry Met Sally... - Love that grows slowly through friendship and conversation
• You've Got Mail - Finding connection in unexpected places

Food as Healing:

• Kamome Diner - A Japanese café in Helsinki where strangers find sanctuary through simple food
• Little Forest - Seasonal cooking and rediscovering yourself in the countryside
• Sweet Bean (An) - Finding meaning through traditional crafts and patient dedication

Starting Over Stories:

• Under the Tuscan Sun - Rebuilding your life after heartbreak in a foreign land
• Bread of Happiness - A remote countryside bakery that heals wounded souls

Each film in our Cinematic Sanctuaries collection reminds us that it's never too late to begin the life you actually want to live.