'The first thing you need to do whilst watching HBO Max’s Julia is to get all other versions of Julia Child out of your head,' writes carolineframke
The first thing you need to do whilst watching HBO Max’s “Julia” is to get all other versions ofout of your head. That proves easier than might be expected, given such enduring depictions as Meryl Streep’s lauded turn in Nora Ephron’s “Julie and Julia” or, most cartoonishly, Dan Aykroyd’s “Saturday Night Live” performance of Child as a careening agent of chaos who constantly bleeds out like a geyser.
Like “Maisel” before it, “Julia” does a remarkable job recreating a specific slice of upper middle class life as anchored by a white woman whose outsized personality comes with similarly notable talent. Its production and set design, costuming, and attention to detail are impressive, and undeniably engrossing when the show hits a particular comedic rhythm . It boasts a strong cast, with the likes of and Bebe Neuwirth ably supporting Lancashire’s central performance.
Fiona Glascott proves a solid voice of reason in the series as Julia’s longtime editor Judith Jones, while Fran Kranz, stepping back into acting after writing and directing the 2021 film “Mass,” brings in a necessary bristly energy as Julia’s reluctant director, though it’s not long before she manages to smooth out his edges. More resistant to smoothing is Julia’s French co-writer Simone Beck, played by Isabella Rossellini with reliable panache.
The same holds true for other potentially rich — or at least a bit thornier — narrative areas that lie outside the runaway success of “The French Chef.” The real Paul Child was questioned during the McCarthy era under suspicion of Communist ties and homosexuality, before he was forced into early retirement. This rather traumatizing series of events somehow never comes up on “Julia,” despite Paul’s restlessness and Julia’s discomfort with homosexuality looming large.
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