This past weekend, as Hurricane Bill scooted up the east coast, New Yorkers were instructed to carry their umbrellas without fail. Wise people did just that. More than once, the skies suddenly opened as one deluge after another fell upon city streets and their inhabitants.

 

Having dodged raindrops throughout Saturday, I opted to spend Sunday afternoon at the movies, where I caught Julie & Julia, the stories of Julie Powell and Julia Child. The latter, of course, is the woman credited with having made French cooking accessible to Americans. The former is the young woman who decided to cook and blog her way through Child’s masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

 

While many critics have noted that the film is jam-packed with “food porn,”—Be forewarned: Do not view this movie on an empty stomach, and as soon as the movie ends, be prepared to feel an irresistible urge to visit your local market and rediscover your kitchen—few have mentioned how well it captures the realities of two lives at work.

 

Both Julie and Julia sought to find meaningful work. Eventually, both succeeded, but only after each experienced any number of trials and tribulations. Julia Child spent more than eight years working and reworking what would eventually become her famous cookbook. Largely as the result of the movie, it has only now become a bestseller. And Julie Powell cooked and blogged often wondering whether anyone saw a word she wrote. The movie is a real testament to perseverance—to creating goals and to pursuing the fulfillment of them with unbridled zest.

 

The movie also serves as pleasant a reminder of the important role others play in helping any one person achieve professional success. It goes without saying that without her husband, Julia Child would likely not have become the successful author and TV personality that America came to know and love. After all, it was Paul who introduced Julia to French cuisine. And once she developed an interest in cooking, he encouraged her to explore, in depth, what quickly became her passion. He truly helped her to see beyond the roadblocks that inevitably await anyone who pursues a dream. As to Julie Powell, she took to referring her husband as “the saint.”

 

Do not wait for this movie to be distributed via cable and satellite. This is one to see now . . . and later.