I totally identified with the new Meryl Streep (my hero!) and Amy Adams movie that opened on Friday. We (my husband Buddy) and I were at the first matinee at the BowTie Cinema in Norwalk. I’d gone to a Times Talks event a few weeks ago to see a live interview with Nora Ephron–the writer and director, Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. I couldn’t wait for the picture to come out!

I thoroughly enjoyed the film which parallels the lives of the blogger from Queens–Julie Powell, who authored Julie and Julia upon which this movie is based. Ms. Powell took on the self-imposed project of cooking her way through the recipes of the great Julia Child in one year–524 recipes in 365 days. While cooking is the central theme, being who I am, I viewed it as a movie about entrepreneurship and passion, of course.

There were so many truths about the journeys of these women business owners, although no one would have referred to Julia Child that way back then. The movie follows the path of the young woman as she cooks her way, and then blogs about it, through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It interweaves that plot line with Child’s road to publication along with a large dose of marital stories in the mix. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so will only bullet my big takeaways:

  • Passion and persistence are as important as talent.
  • Irma Rombauer, author of the Joy of Cooking (which celebrated its 75th anniversary three years ago), paid to have her book published.
  • Not everyone will acknowledge you the way you wish they would.
  • Disappointment is an inevitable part of the journey towards success.
  • Victory is sweet.
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