"Julie & Julia"

Title: "Julie & Julia"
Director: Nora Ephron
Producer: N. Ephron, L. Mark, E. Steel, and A. Robinson
Editing: Richard Marks
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Starring:
- Meryl Streep as Julia Child
- Amy Adams as Julie Powell
- Stanley Tucci as Paul Child
- Chris Messina as Eric Powell

Plot and Critical Review: In 2002, Julie Powell is a young writer trapped in a rather unpleasant job at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's call center. In a stuffy cubicle she answers telephone calls from victims of the September 11 attacks and members of the general public calling to complain about the LMDC's controversial plans for rebuilding the World Trade Center. To enliven her dreary life she attempts to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (published in 1961), and writes a blog to document her progress.

Woven into her story is the story of Julia Child's time in Paris (in the 1950s) in which she learns about the French language, culture, and cuisine. The plot-line of the film carefully highlights similarities in the challenges encountered by both Julie and Julia as they struggle through life's challenges. Both women get support from their husbands, although at one point Powell's husband is fed up with her excessive devotion to her hobby (and to Julia) and leaves her for a few days.

Eventually, Julie's blog is highlighted in a story published in the New York Times and she finally begins to receive the attention of journalists, literary agents, and publishers, as well as a response from Child herself. To her horror, Julie learns that Julia doesn't care for the blog, but Julie's is bound and determined to complete her task and prove herself. Just as Julie's blog becomes famous we flash back in time to see Julia's book accepted and published by Alfred A. Knopf. The last scene shows Julia Child receiving a first print of her cookbook and celebrating the event with her husband.

"Julie & Julia" will be remembered for its outstanding cast and wonderfully sentimental depiction of one of America's most beloved celebrities. Earning a nomination for Best Actress in her portrayal of the jovial Child, Meryl Streep can safely carve another notch in her belt, even if she lost the Oscar to Sandra Bullock. This film also highlights the exceptional talent of Nora Ephron who has had tremendous success over the past two decades as a director of romantic-comedy (rom-com) and drama. We can expect to see her to continue and garner even more success around her thoughtful approach to film-making.

My Rating: 7/10

Content to Caution:
V-1 - I'll give a 1 (one) for the killing of lobsters.
L-2.5 - No comment.
DU-2 - Drinking and smoking.
RT-1 – No comment.
H/S-1 - No comment.
CH-2 – No comment.
S/N-3 – Paul and Julia are revealed to be quite the loving and romantic couple. Several scenes of intimacy, but no nudity.

The "Reel Revelation": "Degrees of Separation"

Have you ever heard the "six degrees of separation" theory? It's also called "The Human Web" theory, and it postulates that all of the people are connected to each other by no more than six steps. That is, we are by association "related" to every person on the planet by association. For example

Eric Thompson knows Tim Root
Tim Root knows Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan knows (knew) Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein knew Herbert von Karajan

Thus, there are only three degrees of separation between HVK and myself; Tim, Abraham, and Lenny. While that doesn't make us "close", it somehow makes the world seem a much smaller place, that (by association) I might be closer to one of my heroes than I thought possible.

This theory also gave rise to a game which played with the same "separation" idea. Called by many names, including "The Kevin Bacon Game", it creates associations between actors and actresses by the movies they've been in. The game shows us once again how close one person can be to another without direct association. Here's an example:

"Julie & Julia" = Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep = "Out Of Africa"
"Out Of Africa" = Robert Redford
Robert Redford = "The Sting"
"The Sting" = Paul Newman
Paul Newman = "Road To Perdition"
"Road To Perdition" = Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks = "Saving Private Ryan"
"Saving Private Ryan" = Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore = "Black Hawk Down"
"Black Hawk Down" = and it goes on and on and on and on...

While these examples are somewhat far fetched I believe the concept of person-to-person separation (expressed rather wonderfully in "Julie & Julia") is something to keep in mind as we consider the enormity of the Church, God's family on Earth.

There are an estimated 1.7 billion Christians living in the world. That's a lot of people! And yet the Bible doesn't seem to care much for the size of God's family. In the pages of Scripture the family of faith is described as a "family", "flock", "body", "church", "light", and "fellowship". Do any of those terms suggest a world-wide multi-billion member group of any kind? God wants us to know that while we may be scattered to every corner of this world, we are one family. Consider these words from Paul to the church in Ephesus:

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." (Eph. 4:4-7)

In God's family there is only one degree of separation between all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus himself. We are a world-wide community of faith, and knowing that (putting it in our minds) is not enough. It's good to know the numbers and have a handle on how many Christians live in what part of the world, but it is far more important to have faith that Jesus truly is our Shepherd and that He guides all of those in his flock.

Remember Paul's words to the Ephesians; while there is "one body", grace was given "to each one". That's good news for people who are afraid they might get lost in the crowd. While we all share the same God, the same faith, and the same baptism, God cares for you and loves you in a special way. In fact, He makes his grace available to you each day in a personal way that will bless and benefit your life.

Give thanks to God for our global community and for the heart-to-heart relationship we have with our Savior and God, "who is over all and through all and in all."

See you tomorrow - E.T.