Thursday, February 17, 2011

Day 80 - Reconciling the Two Julies

Day 80.

From the very beginning of this little project of mine, I knew that the existence of the real Julie Powell was going to be a problem for me. After all, she is an actual human being--one who has read this blog--which was incredibly weird and surreal for me.

The real Julie Powell gave me kudos!?! Like, what the fuck?

I know what you're thinking--obviously fake--which is what I thought too, until I clicked through the profile which looks pretty legit to me (it links to the original Julie/Julia Project). She has only commented once since then. I think I might have scared her off... which makes a little sense. After all, the whole point of this thing was to make fun of her original blog/story/movie. I'm not going to lie, after I found out that the actual Julie Powell might read my blog, I became pretty uncomfortable about just shitting on this woman's life every day.

But then I got over it. I decided that I wasn't actually personally attacking Julie Powell, but rather "Julie Powell," the fictional version of her that Nora Ephron created for Julie & Julia. So that solved a lot of problems. I could feel free to yell at "Julie" all I wanted and I wouldn't have to deal with the fact that I am probably just a big internet bully. Julie Powell is a real person with emotions and feelings, but I wasn't making fun of her exactly. No harm, no foul. Right?

Wrong. Earlier today, a reader, Laural Dawn, left a comment on yesterday's post letting me know that the awful Cobb Salad lunch scene in the movie was totally fictional--and that the actual Julie Powell actually liked her friends. This notion rocked my world, for lack of a better expression. The idea that "Julie Powell" wasn't Julie Powell caught me off-guard, even though I know it shouldn't have. Maybe this is the direct result of me watching this movie 80 times, but I found myself inexplicably unable to  process and confront the fact that scenes in the movie may not have happened in real life. These dangerous thoughts led me to this youtube video of the real Julie Powell.


Check it out if you have the time/want to experience what I have in the last couple of hours. I hate to say it, but the real Julie Powell actually seems likable. For real. Later on in the interview, she makes a self-deprecating joke about Twitter! I can't handle that.

So now I shudder to think that I might tolerate and even like the real Julie Powell. How the fuck do I go back and watch this movie--watch Amy Adams being horrid, watch "Julie Powell" having meltdowns, watch her drag down each and every scene with her annoying and grating personality--without the knowledge that the real person may not actually be a monster after all?

How will I ever reconcile these two conflicting personas of Julie Powell?!?!


Oh wait, that's right. She had an affair while she was still married to her awesome husband for personal literary gain. She is a bitch.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Julie & Julia Quote of the Day: "I am not a saint."
Posted by at

18 comments:

  1. So that's the real Julie Powell. She's soooo boring and annoying when she speaks. There's no humor of any kind, just endless chatter that makes the viewer forget what the original question was. Plus, I bet Julia Childs never cheated on her husband.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Good juxtapositioning of the quote. I bet you did that on purpose.

    ReplyDelete

  3. The conclusion of your post caused me to spew giggles from my cubicle. A+

    ReplyDelete

  4. Honestly, the two Julias that need to be reconciled are the one in Julia and Julia (the book) and the one in Cleaving (the sequel).

    She went from being amazing and inspiring to whiny and selfish.

    It was terrible.

    I hope her third memoir is more like the first.

    ReplyDelete

  5. @ Mandi: She's only thirty something, right? Why does she need THREE memoirs? She isn't even covering a decade with each book. Some people have it all, people wanting to know every single day of their life in exchange for money...
    for real now: three memoirs? I better shut up before I spew incomprehensible stuff.

    ReplyDelete

  6. OMG. I was having the world's crappiest day, and then I read this. And it's less crappy.
    I heart you.
    Oh, and since I couldn't help myself. My Julie lovefest http://lauraldawn.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-i-was-looking-for.html

    ReplyDelete

  7. I'm just wondering how she found your blog so quickly. Was she googling herself?

    ReplyDelete

  8. Like her or not, this woman is the very definition of a narcissist; I am sure she reads this every day! Don't get weak willed Lawrence!

    ReplyDelete

  9. @Nessie - very good point! But she is a talented writer. So maybe her third book will be about something other than her?

    ReplyDelete

  10. Hmm. I know nothing about the real Julie Powell but for some reason her face is just more likable than any face Amy Adams makes as her.

    ReplyDelete

  12. VCs typically just consider organizations that have vast development and benefit potential. They are searching for that organization that will probably open up to the world or offer for a mind blowing benefit and give a stunning profit for their venture. Auto Title Loans

    ReplyDelete

  13. Inside these elements credits related information are the most critical. Credits not just are one of the ranges where a considerable measure of cash goes out however fizzled reimbursements are additionally one of the spots where a ton of cash is lost. payday loans san-diego

    ReplyDelete

  14. In USA you will notice U.S. everyplace, every city and 24/7. we tend to truly wish to serve you the foremost effective things with 100% satisfactions. it's very taxing to say once exactly got to be compelled to cash your check. usually it ought to very difficult to cash if it isn't official hours.
    check cashing

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)