Posted by holly on Oct 19, 2010 in
Blog Okay, WTF? Is there something about this time of year that just forces Hollywood to sit back in their overstuffed leather office chairs, sip their grande nonfat soy lattes and think, “let’s make a movie about Holly’s life” ?
Last year it was Julie and Julia (redhaired blogger who loves to cook dating guy named Eric, et cetera. Go back and read the blog people!) and this year it’s Life as we Know it. Seriously, go see it. Great movie. But here I am, innocently thinking I’m just going to Cineplex to watch Josh Duhamel in his skivvies (BONUS!) and instead I get a movie about two mismatched people named – wait for it – Holly and Eric who wind up living together. He’s a bit unkempt, she’s a bit of a list freak who likes everything tidy and in order and, just because the similarities weren’t disturbing enough, she’s a baker, too. Like as in a professional baker. And I’m watching the whole thing thinking, “I can do that! I make cakes like that all the time!” Damn. Of course it wasn’t spot on, there was a bit about some dead friends, a baby, Eric liking sports and Josh Lucas as the doctor she wants to date (okay, maybe that last one’s a little similar, too…) but it was enough to throw me.
Again.
Damn.
Come next fall I’m going to be paranoid that some of my less attractive qualities are going to appear on the big screen and remove my veneer of fabulousness. But then again, it is called HOLLYwood, right? And I do always get the guy in the end…
Maybe I’ll just stop complaining now. Bring on next fall!
Tags: Hollywood, Julie and Julia, Life as we Know it, movie, my life
Posted by holly on Oct 18, 2009 in
Blog Last night the bf and I went to our local drive-in for a Julie & Julia and District 9 double feature and I practically had an out of body experience. District 9 was good, but Julie & Julia freaked me out. It also inspired me to bake and blog (chocolate chip cookie squares in the oven as I type this), but that’s beyond the point.
The movie is about me!
I’m not talking one little passing similarity here, I’m talking full-on, Joey Lawrence “Woah!” The bf kept looking at me, eyebrows raised, amused smirk on his face as I squirmed in my seat, engrossed in the very good, very funny movie, but also having a disturbing moment of self-reflection. Totally weirded me out. For the most part it was cool, but there are some aspects of my personality (the occasional meltdown over the smallest things, my neurosis, fears, not always appreciating all the fantastic things I have in my life) that you don t necessarily want projected on a giant screen. Thank God we were alone in the car!
Get a load of this:
- Julie Powell is an aspiring novelist as yet unpublished. Julia Child is an aspiring cookbook author in the process of being published.
- Julie and I both have jobs where people occasionally yell at us for something we have no control over or, conversely, burst into tears, and it’s our responsibility to make it all better. When the frustration of this follows us home we bury ourselves in our hobbies to escape.
- Julie and I both blog about our passions.
- Julie and I both have a fantastic man NAMED ERIC (!!!) who fully supports us through all our emotional meltdowns (not that I have many) and whom we need to appreciate more.
- Julie and I both love to cook. My particular passion is baking and desserts, but any port in a storm will do. Luckily, Eric is a foodie and loves good quality meals (or pretends to like the lesser-quality stuff that pops up every once in a while), so it doesn’t go to waste.
- Julie and I both have short red hair.
- Julie and Eric just moved to a new apartment to be closer to work and save money. Holly and Eric just moved (two weeks ago) to a new apartment to save money and be closer to work.
- Julie and I both had no idea about blogs until our Erics got online and set them up for us.
See? Told you it was overwhelming. On the upside, the movie (as all Norah Ephron movies do) had a happy ending, so I’m taking that to mean that I will have my novel published, become a super famous (or at least financially stable) writer and live happily ever after until the credits roll. And it made me want to cook so bad I almost gave up on sleep last night to whip something up at three in the morning.
On an only slightly related travel note, the movie also made me want to go to France, which never happens to me. I have been to France twice (which qualifies me to say this) and left both times saying I had no desire to ever be back. Don’t get me wrong, I love the attractions they have there. The Eiffel Tower is quite possibly my favorite structure on the face of the planet and I can stare at it for weeks happily. But the overall “vibe” of France – the stereotypical standoffishness (I don’t find them rude at all, they just ignore the non-French as if they’re not there) just doesn’t suit me. But seeing the tower, the adorable little winding cobblestone streets, the look on Eric’s face at the thought of eating actual French food in France… I would go back.
Okay, just got the chocolate chip squares out of the oven and they have some issues. I think they’re slightly undercooked and I might have accidentally just poisoned Eric and I. So I will do like Julie and channel my inner Julia Child. As the maestro says in the movie, there are no mistakes in the kitchen, just setbacks.
Tags: baking, cooking, drive-in, France, Julie and Julia, movie, weird