The (Tall) French Chef

I went to see Julie and Julia today, a new film about two women with a passion for cooking and I loved it. Not just pleasantly enjoyed it or chuckled through it but rather I want to write sonnets in its honor, bestow raves upon it, give it two thumps up, etc. But this should come as no big surprise to anyone who knows me...

Julie Powell, an office worker drowning in her cubicle, decides to embark on a tremendous task: in one year, she'll cook her way though Julia Child's epic 524-recipe magnum opus "How to Master the Art of French Cooking" and blog about the experience. I read the book when it was released and thought it was a great story of "average girl seeks life changing experience"...and actually gets it! The movie, though, goes a step further to include the bio of Julia Child herself. And since I've never read Julia's biography, it opened my eyes to someone I should've been admiring for a long time. Why? She's tall. And loves to eat. REMIND YOU OF ANYONE? (cough cough...me)

While Julie's story is heartwarming and reminds you that sometimes good things do happen to those who earn them (she wants to be a writer, she starts a blog, she gets published...you get the idea), it was really Julia's section of the movie that so moved me. For the unfamiliar, Julia Child stood 6'2" tall - and the director, Nora Ephron, goes to great heights (ha!) to showcase this in the film. She married a man considerably shorter than she was, she lived in France where she towered over every local she encountered, she wore heels (!). And yet, instead of people being overwhelmed by her, her height and her strident nature (which is how I often feel), they embraced her for it. It became her calling card - well that and her ridiculously enjoyable trill of a voice - and I'm completely enamored with how she was able to laugh at her height, use it, embrace it. Definitely a lesson I've tried to learn but one where I can always use a refresher course.

Certainly it was not Julia's height that made her famous or brought her acclaim. But neither was it something she used as an impediment to those goals and for that I say bravo! Oh and of course...bon appetit!

Shotgun

There are many pros and cons to being tall. Con - being called Daddy Long Legs all throughout jr high, having to stand in the back of every photo ever taken, not finding a date to the prom that didn't come up to your shoulders, etc. Pro - Standing out in a crowd (in a great, regal way), always being able to reach the highest shelf, knowing that no one will ever mistake you for a munchkin, etc. The list (both of em!) go on and on but one thing that's always a winner for tall folks is automatic shotgun.

Granted, most of the time you need shotgun so as not to have your knees smushed into your chin. But sometimes shotgun really pays off. Like tonight, when, upon piling back into NF's car after a delish dinner at Ten Tables Cambridge (more to come on that later but for reals, go now!), it was a given that I would get the front seat. This came in particularly handy given that the back seat was occupied by an enormous car seat box and the two ladies who were fortunate enough to ride in it had to determine a way to crush both their bodies and this enormo box into one back seat.

It wasn't neccesarily a long car ride but I'm grateful - as I so often am - to my dad for blessing me with these long ass legs of mine so that, while I got to stretch out in the front seat, poor K got stuck being trampled by a box half the size of her own self! Add one to the pro list! Tomorrow some loser will ask me if I ever played basketball for UConn and the scales might tip in the other direction but, for tonight, I go to bed happy and with uncrampd calves. Thanks Dad!!

Dinner & A Movie: Movin On UP

So I took my own advice this weekend and went to see the new Pixar flick, UP. Since most of my current readership consists of my good friends, old teachers, fellow bloggers and my mom, I don't have to spin too long an explanation explaining two of my great loves in life: going to the movies and going out to eat. But for the uninitiated, here's a quick nugget:

I went to Boston University to study television and film but that doesn't really justify the need/want/desire to see at least one new movie a week. Think that's just some oddity some of us are born with and spend the rest of our lives trying to earn enough money to justify spending $11/week. Add to that my true passion, FOOD/DINING OUT, and I figured here was as good a place as any to do a recurring series on Dinner & A Movie, Boston style.

Sunday afternoon at Loews Boston Common and my friend B and I opted NOT to go to the 3D version of UP (even that felt a bit much for my 30-yr old self). It was crowded, not at all shocking, but I love a movie on opening weekend because there is just a vibe in the air - it's my justification for putting up with sticky floors and crying babies. Regardless of the audience though, UP delivered, and delivered big. This movie is driven by some of the best drawn out (no pun intended) characters a movie's ever seen, regardless of animated or not. Carl, Russell, Kevin,Doug - a combination of heartfelt moments, wacky storytelling and just good honest heart-warming Disney magic. Go see this movie. You won't regret it, regardless of age or stature.

And if you're looking for a pre or post movie snack fix, check out the Kinsale at City Hall Plaza. Just a few blocks walking distance from the Lowes, it offers free parking (up to 3 hours) on weekdays after 6pm. Try finding that near the theater district! Good grub, trivia on Wed nights and a kick ass turkey burger that will remind you that sometimes a burger can be a non burger and still be damm tasty.

So there you have it - Dinner & A Movie, my first go. Up & Kinsale. Do it up!