The makers of this "Girl Power" stomach bomb would have you believe that no harried housewife in human history had ever made a meal from scratch until Julia Child burst into living rooms across America on July 26, 1962 to save humanity from the horror of Swanson frozen TV dinners; I had to look up the date because the makers of this "Girl Power" stomach bomb couldn't be bothered to slap it on the screen. The upshot (and I doubt anyone has ever realized this) is that Saint Julia wanted to have it both ways: she poo-pooed the patriarchy (in the form of her stiff-as-a-starched-shirt papa) which "kept" Harried Housewife chained to her unhappy home, yet the heretics at Swanson never came out with a Boeuf à la Bourguignon frozen TV dinner -- she expected Harried Housewife to make THAT one all by herself!
The irony is Saint Julia was "saved" from becoming a Harried Housewife (albeit, an Über-Privileged Harried Housewife) by a man. Better yet, Paul Child "saved" Saint Julia "from" Stiff-as-a-Starched-Shirt Papa. As this IS HBO, John McWilliams is depicted as a Leftist Boogeyman: über-wealthy, über-conservative, über-bigoted, and (gad!) a Nixon supporter! Indeed, so taken are they with their Stiff-as-a-Starched-Shirt Papa Bashing, the makers of this "Girl Power" stomach bomb couldn't be bothered to give props to the three woman who helped make Saint Julia a household name: Louisette Bertholle, co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking; Knopf's Judith Jones, who pushed to get said opus published; and Knopf's Avis DeVoto, who edited and guided said opus.
Anyone familiar with Julia Child's life will find no big reveals here; anyone not familiar with her life will find even less.
The irony is Saint Julia was "saved" from becoming a Harried Housewife (albeit, an Über-Privileged Harried Housewife) by a man. Better yet, Paul Child "saved" Saint Julia "from" Stiff-as-a-Starched-Shirt Papa. As this IS HBO, John McWilliams is depicted as a Leftist Boogeyman: über-wealthy, über-conservative, über-bigoted, and (gad!) a Nixon supporter! Indeed, so taken are they with their Stiff-as-a-Starched-Shirt Papa Bashing, the makers of this "Girl Power" stomach bomb couldn't be bothered to give props to the three woman who helped make Saint Julia a household name: Louisette Bertholle, co-author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking; Knopf's Judith Jones, who pushed to get said opus published; and Knopf's Avis DeVoto, who edited and guided said opus.
Anyone familiar with Julia Child's life will find no big reveals here; anyone not familiar with her life will find even less.