DVD Review: Julie & Julia by Nora Ephron

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

I saw Julie & Julia in the theater when it first came out and I loved it. I had gone with a girlfriend and my husband hadn't seen it yet so when it came out on DVD, I rented it.

I really liked it the second time around, too. It's the story of a blogger named Julie Powell who took on the challenge to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year, and blog about it every day. The film contrasts blogger Julie's life to that of Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career.

I fully enjoyed the skillful depictions of highly creative and tenacious women performed by award-winning actors Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. They demonstrated how success requires persistence and focus.

I recommend Julie & Julia to anyone who wants to start a blog about their passion. Julie Powell wrote day in and day out for a while before developing a fan base. But slowly over the year she developed a strong following and ultimately attracted interviews, a book deal and a movie. This film really shows how dreams fueled by passion and daily focus and activity can create magic!