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SALT LAKE CITY — If you’re reading this article, there’s a high probability you’ve seen the 2009 movie “Julie & Julia” — a film that flashes back and forth between the stories of Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) culinary origins and blogger Julie Powell's (Amy Adams) later attempt to recreate Child’s recipes.
The film was ultimately met with mixed reviews by fans and critics alike, and a common lament from both parties can be summed up in the words of Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips:
“One can’t help but wonder if (Nora) Ephron would’ve been better off focusing exclusively on Child: She’s simply more interesting screen company.”
Apparently, editor Adam Goldman agreed with the criticism. In a recent post to Vimeo, Goldman uploaded his version of the dramedy, titled "& Julia," which removed every single frame of Powell’s story. In the project’s description, he added simply, “Because we were all thinking it.”
Popular movie sites like hitfix.com have begun promoting the project, and viewers of the significantly shorter version seem to agree the Adams-less version is an improvement.
Vimeo user gerG said, “So wonderful. Thank you for doing this. Streep as Julia is a dream and was an inspired portrayal, and your cut enhances it. This is the only way I'll watch this film.”
And L.Phillips added, “Thank you. I know I was thinking it.”
On a personal level, I definitely get where fans of the project are coming from on this and admit I enjoyed Goldman’s contribution. But as a fan of Adams, I’m sure I’ll stick to Ephron’s original vision every Thanksgiving, as my wife and I pull out our favorite foodie movies. Travis has been covering movie news, film reviews and live events for Deseret News and KSL.com since 2010 and co-hosts the FlixJunkies podcast. You can contact Travis at tspoppleton@gmail.com.
