Julie and Julia [Book v. Movie]

March 24, 2010Michelle

I may be the last person on earth (or at least the blogosphere) to read Julie and Julia by Julie Powell despite the fact that I’ve been meaning to read it for quite some time. While I’m not a foodie like many of you, I did read My Life in France (for law school – weird, right?) and I adored it. But I was disappointed by Julie and Julia. I didn’t like Julie. At all. I thought she was selfish and whiney and almost stopped reading about a third of the way through. I couldn’t imagine being Eric, her poor husband that had to put up with all of it. I know that people do like her because people read her blog and she must have been just as annoying then, but this book just wasn’t for me.

I did, however, enjoy the movie. The movie feels more like a mash-up of Julie and Julia and My Life in France. I thoroughly enjoyed the Julia scenes (how could you not love this woman?) and I like the movie version of Julie much better than the book (or rather the real life) version. This is one of those rare occasions where the movie is better than the book. See also, Charlie/Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Quick thoughts this morning, but I really don’t have much to say except that I disliked the book and liked the movie.

Kelly March 24, 2010 / 10:07 am

Couldn’t agree more. And, we learned in her second book, she apparently cheated on Eric. (I don’t know if they’re still together.)

I also thought she took too many potshots at Republicans (and I am one of the most liberal people ever) but by the tenth time, it’s like, “Seriously. Enough.”

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Antonella March 24, 2010 / 11:25 am

Thanks for this. I won’t bother to read the book then. As I love the movie so much I don’t wnat to be disappointed by the book this time. I also disliked Julie very much, but in my case it could be because on the other hand I love Meryl Streep a lot and the actress who played Julie couldn’t remotely compare to her. Ciao. A.

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Jen - Devourer of Books March 24, 2010 / 12:41 pm

Oh good, now I feel validated in my decision to give my copy of this away (I got it from BookMooch after everyone was reading and loving it).

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Christa March 24, 2010 / 1:01 pm

I agree. I listened to this on audio book and I actually couldn’t finish it because I didn’t like Julie. I did however enjoy the movie!

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Susan March 24, 2010 / 1:11 pm

Lesson learned: I’ll rent the movie (I do like Amy Adams due to Enchanted), and skip the book.

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Michelle March 24, 2010 / 5:12 pm

I agree that I loved the movie! And I haven’t read the book, and I think I won’t now. I don’t want it to ruin the perfect-ness that was in the movie 🙂

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Reeder Reads March 24, 2010 / 5:40 pm

I was pondering whether or not to read this book and I think I might shelf it because I’m not a foodie either and I don’t think it would be for me, but like you, I loved the movie!

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Julie March 24, 2010 / 8:25 pm

I haven’t read the book or seen the movie. It is rare to like the movie better. It hardly ever happens for me, but this has inspired me to skip the book, grab some popcorn, and enjoy two wonderful actresses. Better add it to my netflix queue.

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Emily March 25, 2010 / 7:56 am

I haven’t read the book, and I don’t really have a desire to. I’ve heard quite often how whiny and annoying it is.

I did really enjoy the movie though. The Julia parts were by far the best, and I really wish that they had made a whole movie of My Life in France and just focused on the Julia Child story.

I do highly recommend reading My Life in France. It’s an extremely delightful memoir and a joy to read.

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nomadreader (Carrie) March 25, 2010 / 9:52 am

We had completely opposite reactions. I loved the book, and I loved Julie. The movie fell flat for me. I thought Meryl Streep was good, but the entire film was disjointed. Julie’s story was still more interesting to me, but I the film as a whole didn’t work. I’m glad you liked it though!

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- Michelle March 25, 2010 / 12:06 pm
  
  That’s interesting. I know people disagree on the book, but you’re the first person I’ve heard that didn’t like the movie.
  
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Nicole March 25, 2010 / 8:56 pm

I have not read Julei and Julia, but I did see Julia Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian when I was in DC!

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Dominique March 28, 2010 / 6:41 am

I enjoyed the movie, but not so much that I’d be interested in reading the book. While I liked the movie, I did find Julie a tad annoying in the movie which is saying something since I love Amy Adams. If she’s even more whiney in the book then it’s really not for me.

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