Tragic Sandwich

Tag: Amy Adams

  • Sick Day: Live-Blogging “Julie & Julia”

    I’ve had this cold for almost two weeks. I’m pretty sure bronchitis is in the mix. Should I go to Urgent Care? Maybe. Instead, I took a sick day and slept for four hours.

    My usual sick day movie is “When Harry Met Sally,” and I was thisclose to watching it. But for some reason I have a DVD of “Julie & Julia,” so I’ve decided to watch that. And because I’ve read Cleaving and don’t like Julie, I’ve decided to live-blog it as well. Because I am nothing if not timely.

    I have read Julie Powell’s book about her blog, and I have read Julia Child’s My Life in France, so here we are.

    DVD cover of Julie & Julia

    We open the movie on a woman who is delighted to be just where she is (Julia Child) and then move to a woman who is miserable where she is. This is kind of the whole point.

    Julie’s friends are awful. Why are they friends? Did they go to college together? I don’t care. I never want to see them again.

    Oh, wow. She got “Single and Fabulous?“ed. By one of her alleged friends. Urgh.

    I like Julie more than I expected to, based on other reviews. And on Cleaving.

    How did they make Meryl Streep look so tall? I’m sure there’s an article that explains the technique.

    Oh, god. That was the best “I love my life, but oh, I so wish we could have a baby” moment. This is why Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep.

    Mary Lynne Rajskub needs bigger roles. She’s great.

    Well, who DOESN’T want Julia Child’s life at this point? I mean, it sounded incredible in her book, and seeing it recreated? Magical.

    Julie got 12 comments, and none of the readers were people she knows. I know just how that feels! It’s a good feeling.

    This lobster sequence is everything.

    Full disclosure: I have never killed . . . err . . . cooked a lobster, either.

    “I think you should do the PayPal thing. That way we can have more lobster.” I’m with Mary Lynne Rajskub. Says the woman who has intentionally not monetized her blog. I know.

    “Like if I didn’t write, they would really be upset.” Is this where you started to go wrong, Julie Powell?

    Aspics sound awful. My mother, who was a good cook, took to one aspic recipe for a while. It was underwhelming.

    Is there anything more delightfully happy than Julia Child and her sister Dorothy reuniting? I can’t imagine.

    Dorothy is pregnant. Oh, Julia. I know.

    I have never wanted to make beef bourguignon so much, and the one time I had it, I didn’t care for it. Possibly because I don’t like wine.

    Surprise: I don’t like Eric.

    After Julie’s New York Times article, there are 65 messages on her answering machine. It’s 2018, and my answering machine won’t hold 65 messages. Yes, it’s 2018 and I have an answering machine. I know.

    I think Julie got some new friends. Good. Only Mary Lynne Rajskub was worth keeping around.

    She made it! And so did she!

    I liked this movie more than I expected to. It’s a good sick day movie. But I’ll probably watch “When Harry Met Sally” next time.

  • Why Does Susan Sarandon Always Seem Drunk?

    I think this is a question worth asking. Because I saw her on The Daily Show, and in addition to her ridiculous delusions of political importance, (You know how you can tell you aren’t being silenced by the government? When you can go on TV and talk about how you’re afraid of being silenced by the government. But I digress.) she seemed a little disoriented and slurry. Right now, on the Golden Globes, she gave the same impression. Mind you, for all I know she doesn’t drink at all. But her behavior is noticeable.

    I’m watching the red carpet shows, and in general the clothes seem pretty good. I just saw Amy Adams (who I saw yesterday morning in real life, and let me tell you, just walking by, she’s enchanting), and I love her leaf earrings. And while normally I’m tired of black evening gowns, hers looked gorgeous.

    Anna Paquin is talking to Ryan Seacrest. She doesn’t seem to have become more articulate since her Oscar speech for The Piano.

    Christina Applegate is lovely in yellow. Elizabeth Banks is wearing a very pretty dress in a shade that is much too close to the color of her skin.

    Apparently Lorraine Schwartz designs all of the jewelry in the world.

    I keep switching between the two red carpet shows, trying to figure out which duo is worse: Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone, or Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest. It’s a close call, but I may have bad news for Lisa and Joey.

    You know what I hate? The way they keep outlining the actresses with that on-screen pen they use to diagram football plays. There’s something really creepy about tracing bodies with that pen. And a bit misogynist, since I haven’t seen them trace any of the men yet.

    Maggie Gyllenhaal is very politely telling Ryan Seacrest to stop asking about Heath Ledger. Good for her.

    Drew Barrymore’s hair is enormous. It seems to have escaped form the mid-1980s. Jessica Lange seems very nervous.

    Commercial break.

  • Enchanted

    There Will Be Blood has been sitting on top of the TV for–I kid you not–two months. Clearly we are not maximizing our Netflix subscription.

    Or maybe we’re just not in the mood for drama. Enchanted has been here for less than 10 days, and this afternoon I watched it. Twice.

    It’s an adorable movie, and I’m really impressed with how well Disney made fun of itself. They did a great presentation of how insane the animated hair and costumes would look in the real world, and if New Yorkers ran into Giselle’s fairy-tale sensibilities, they’d be convinced she was crazy. The performances were spot on; Amy Adams is endearing as Giselle, and James Marsden makes the clueless, self-involved blowhard Prince Edward a surprisingly sympathetic character. Patrick Dempsey plays Robert as McExasperated, which works–I’m not a huge Patrick Dempsey fan, but I liked him here. And once again I’m sorry that I didn’t see Idina Menzel in Wicked when I lived back east. She doesn’t sing here, but she’s definitely got presence.

    By the way, if you get the chance, see Wicked. J got me tickets for Christmas, and we both loved it. But do not read the book, which is muddled and kind of gross.

    I’m not sure what we’ll wind up doing with the rest of the evening. But I’ll bet it won’t involve watching There Will Be Blood.