Julie & Julia (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

There aren't many mainstream movies about cooking. There are even less movies about the lives celebrity chefs and bloggers who are inspired by them - but that basically sums up the plot of Julie & Julia, the latest comedy/drama from director Nora Ephron. The film tells two parallel stories: firstly that of the life of chef Julia Child (Meryl Streep), who became America's first celebrity chef in the 1950s when she wrote her groundbreaking French cookbook 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'; and that of Julie Powell (Amy Adams), whose quest to cook all 524 recipe's in Child's cookbook, and her blog about her experiences, made her famous within the modern New York foodie crowd. It's a quirky little film, but a critically acclaimed one nonetheless, with Streep's performance as Child receiving notable praise.

The score for Julie & Julia is by French composer Alexandre Desplat, who continues to stake his claim as the busiest composer in Hollywood. Julie & Julia is the third...Read more

I was taken more with the relationship between Julia and her husband - played so gently by the wonderful Stanley Tucci (I have never seen him in a movie yet where I didn't think he was terrific). His character was supportive and loving -much like I would hope he was to her in real life. Meryl Streep is perfect in everything. Is there a role that she can't play? I saw "Doubt" and "Mama Mia" back to back - she has to be the best actress of our generation. But what really got me was Margaret Whiting singing "Time After Time." My dad was a Big Band fan and he actually played a sax in a band in Boston during the late 30's and early 40's. He was particularly fond of the song styling of Margaret Whiting and Jo Stafford. Listening to that song brought back warm memories of my parents dancing in the kitchen. The lyrics and music are lovely. I am going to dedicate the song to my wonderful husband. I have tried to buy a CD with that particular song on it, to no avail.

This score, which probably should not be billed as a soundtrack, includes almost all the music from the movie, and definitely all the themes. The only complaint is that there's this wonderful uptick in the score when Julie exits the subway in Lower Manhattan very early in the movie, and while the movement it's embedded in is here, that particular moment isn't. This is understandable, as this film adapts a few nice themes to suit different moments in the film. My favorite just wasn't one of them.

There seem to be two categories of negative reviews, aside from people who bought the score thinking they were buying the dvd: those who think it all sounds alike, and Child snobs who are somewhat insulted that Julie's themes are even included. These individuals should feel free to express themselves on the review page for the film itself, but it's really not pertinent to the soundtrack. As for it all sounding similar, I would simply add that it's a score, which is designed to...Read more