If the old saying "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" is true, than whoever is President of the United States at any given moment in time should feel pretty good about themselves. That is, except when said imitation isn't exactly glowing, at least in a positive sense.
In fact, some such portrayals can be downright mean. The best, however, often make their sarcastic or just observational points mixed with one degree or another of fondness, admiration and/or enough wink-wink joviality that people on both sides of any aisle can have a good laugh.
Of course, Presidents and presidential candidates aren't the only targets for such comedic portrayals, and the folks at "Saturday Night Live" have spent decades skewering celebrities and such just as much as politicians. While there have been many, one of the most memorable was from one of the early seasons where Dan Aykroyd portrayed Julia Child.
Beyond the man in drag part of the joke (to accentuate Child's real 6'-2" height), the extended punch line of the skit had the legendary cook accidentally cutting herself -- quite bad, in fact, with bloody pulsating everywhere and onto everything -- but maintaining her plucky and good-natured aura to the very end. The bit worked because it played off the truth (Child's persona) yet went to exaggerated means for the laughs.
Much of that clip is seen in "Julie & Julia," a dramedy where the impersonation of the latter titular character isn't caricature-based like Aykroyd's, but instead is a near spot-on impersonation of the real thing, brought to life by the greatest living actress still in the biz, Meryl Streep.
Equipped with the right vocal intonations, wig (or hairstyling) and the way she carries her body (that reportedly packed on an extra 15 pounds for the part and what might be cheek implants to fill out her face more a la Marlon "The Godfather Brando" -- although not to that same extent), the actress quite simply becomes the famous cook. It's a terrific performance (you soon forget you're seeing Streep doing Child and simply accept that you're watching the latter) that goes a long way in making this pic an enjoyable and entertaining enough diversion.
Writer/director Nora Ephron (who made it big with the likes of "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle" but hasn't had a decent film since 1998 with "You've Got Mail") clearly senses she has the gold standard working for her in this adaption not only of "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell but also "My Life in France" by Julia Child (with Alex Prud'homme).
Yet, as the title suggests, this offering isn't just about her. Instead, it also features the less glamorous tale of a young woman (played by Amy Adams) who finds her life inspired by Child during the year-long period where she strives to make everything listed in her predecessor's famous cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
Considering one story takes place in 1949 France and the other in 2002 Queens, New York, it probably won't come as much of a surprise that Ephron repeatedly alternates the focus of her tale between the two women. The point, obviously, is not only showing how one inspired the other, but also in how the women's lives somewhat parallel each other, albeit on different sorts of tracks (Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina decently play the husbands who travel with or get bumped along those courses).
With a few exceptions, I've never been a big fan of films featuring such jumping back and forth between two periods (usually because the constant switching usually interrupts the flow and any sort of dramatic or just general storytelling momentum). That tactic here eventually does have some degree of the same, especially about midway through when the charming performances and general aura struggle to keep things moving forward in a non-stop, interesting fashion.
It isn't -- pardon the absolutely necessary pun -- a recipe for disaster, but once one inhales the aroma of Streep's performance, you'll end up hungry (and not just due to the scrumptious food onscreen) for something more to go along with that. Alas, the film ultimately doesn't offer a cinematic 5-course triumph. Yes, it does all go down fairly easy, but it begins to taste the same after a while, even as the story elements of the women trying to accomplish their separate but ultimately related quests teases at both never goes terribly deep with the material.
No offense to the real Julie Powell, but her story isn't as interesting as Child's, and I suspect many viewers will end up wishing they were served more of the latter than the former, especially with Streep being such a tasty and often dead-on ingredient. Okay, but needing more meat on its bones, "Julie & Julia" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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