December 30: Julie & Julia

Confession time: I tried to read Julie Powell's book before seeing this movie but I petered out about half-way through. She's an okay writer and all but the book didn't grab me enough to hold my interest. And I guess that filmmaker Nora Ephron must have felt that way too because in making the movie Julie and Julia, she also utilized Child's memoir to bolster the story and to seek out more contrast and common ground.

Anyway, the film received a lot of attention because Meryl Streep was playing Julia Child. Now Ms. Streep is arguably one of American cinema's greatest actresses but I do have the feeling that sometimes she gets a pass when she shouldn't. I mean Music from the Heart was an okay movie but hardly Oscar worthy and yet she picked up one of her innumerable nominations for that picture. Undoubtedly she's headed to add yet another one for this movie but throughout I had the distinct feeling I was watching her do an impersonation as opposed to giving a performance. It didn't help that Ephron included Dan Ackroyd's famous sketch from Saturday Night Live. There was something a bit off about that moment and for me it marred Streep's work.
(Yes I know she's getting awards for this but I cannot fathom it -- the performance isn't one of her best. At this point I think she gets a prize as long as she shows up and tries out a new accent.)

The premise of Powell's book is that she decides to take on a project that she plans to see to completion and that is to make her way through Child's cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by making over 500 recipes in a year's time. Powell is played by Amy Adams who has an eternally chirpy and cheerful screen persona that was a bit grating in Junebug, used to perfection in Enchanted and here is somewhere in between. Actually, she's more unlikable than usual and the character even notes it by saying how much of a bitch she has become in one scene with her best friend (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub). When her self-centered attitude takes a toll on her marriage to her initially supportive husband Eric (Chris Messina), the audience is supposed to care, but frankly I didn't. In fact, I was a bit annoyed he decided to return and I just figured he must have gotten hungry and wanted a good home-cooked meal.

Ephron seems to have more of a flair for Child's life with her husband Paul (a fine Stanley Tucci). Those scenes have more life to them (which I think is where the critics go blind thinking that it is all Meryl Streep and not noticing that she's supported strongly by Linda Emond, Joan Juliet Buck, Tucci, Jane Lynch, and Helen Carey).

I was a bit disappointed by this movie, especially since this was supposed to be about food. Ephron would have done well to examine Tucci's movie Big Night for pointers. I left that one craving Italian food. After watching Julie & Julia, I wasn't in the least hungry.

Rating:       C

December 22: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

Adapted from a novel by Winifred Watson (what an alliterative name!) by screenwriters Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) and David Magee (Finding Neverland), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was a charming if fluffy way to pass the time.

Frances McDormand portrays Guinivere Pettigrew, a British governess in the 1930s who is a bit dour, very straight-laced and apparently unemployable. Despite repeated attempts to be placed by an agency, Miss Pettigrew gets the sack. The film's event unfold over the course of one day when everything changes. After losing her last gig and spending a night on the streets where she pretty much loses everything except for the clothes on her back, Pettigrew pilfers information about a possible employment opportunity and shows up at the door of flighty Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a chorus girl with aspirations who is juggling a trio of lovers, including Phil (Tom Payne, handsome but shallow), the youngish producer who may be able to boost her to stardom, Nick (Mark Strong, debonair with a hint of cruelty), her sugar daddy who keeps her in apartments and fancy clothes, and Michael (Lee Pace, charming), a musician who knows the girl behind the dreamer she now has become.

The take-charge Pettigrew snaps to action. The one thing she can do well is size up a situation quickly and come up with plausible explanations. Along the way, she gets drawn into fixing another relatioship, that of Delysia's rival Edith (the always wonderful Shirley Henderson) and Joe (Ciaran Hinds, seemingly relieved at not portraying a heavy), her slightly older and gentler suitor.

On paper this is catnip and shortly after Watson's novel was published it was optioned for the movies to be a vehicle for Billie Burke as Miss Pettigrew. Personally I think that might have been a bit disatrous as Burke, like Alice Brady, tended to portray scatterbrains; she might have made a better Delysia. The project languished for nearly 70 years before it finally hit the screens and, frankly, McDormand is perfectly cast as the uptight governess/social secretary. Her Pettigrew is a masteful comic creation and she grounds the movie, becoming the placid center around which all the intrigue swirls. Adams is a bit chirpy and sacchrine at first but eventually she adjusts and plays her character in a less cartoon-like manner. As with many romantic comedies, it's painfully obvious which of her three suitors is more suitable just as the chemistry between McDormand and Hinds hints at an outcome that isn't too hard to predict.

Half the fun is getting there, though. The director, Bharat Nalluri (who helmed The Crow: Salvation), doesn't seem fully comfortable with the genre. The film lacks a certain panache. Still, the production design of Sarah Greenwood, the costumes of Michael O'Connor (who won an Oscar for The Duchess), and the cinematography of  John de Borman (who shot Ella Enchanted, among others) go a long way toward creating the appropriate atmosphere.

The actors appear to be having a good time and that infectiousness eventually overcomes whatever shortcomings the movie has. There are some slightly darker elements as well, and the hints of the war to come layer this particular 24-hour period with a certain poignance. While not exactly a complete throwback to the old-fashioned studio produced romantic comedies of the time depicted on screen, Miss Pettigew Lives for a Day comes pretty close. It's an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half.

Rating:     B