Leap Year

Starring:  Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott
Romantic Comedy, 2010 (Rated PG)

Amy Adams stars as Anna who is after the perfect apartment and the perfect life with her perfect boyfriend.  Since he hasn't proposed after all this time she decides to take matters into her own hands by following him to Ireland where he is attending a medical conference.  According to an Irish tradition a man can't refuse a proposal from a woman during leap year so she hops on a plane to get her man only to find out it's not nearly as easy or simple as she thought it was going to be. 

• I love Amy Adams and just about every movie she's done.  She is pert, lively, pretty, and a darn good actress.  As perfect as Anna is in this movie she somehow still manages to come off as down to earth and relatable.
• Just about everything that can go wrong does on this trip but Ana refuses to give up.
• Oh, the dilemma's that arise in matters of the heart!  Ana's boyfriend Jeremy (Scott) is as perfect as perfect can get.  It's clear that he loves her but the question remains...is it enough? 
• There are unwanted and surprising sparks between Anna and Irishmen Declan (Goode) who is quite an unpleasant character who begrudgingly helps her along her travels.  His heavy Irish accent is sometimes hard to understand so my habit of watching movies with subtitles on came in handy.

4 STARS

Julie & Julia

Starring: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams
Comedy, 2009 (PG-13)

This is the true story of two different Julia's wherein Julia Powell is inspired by Julia Child. Julia Powell is a lowly government secretary who works in a cubicle and has friends who design things, write things, and have big titles. She is a writer but doesn't consider herself to actually be one because she couldn't find anyone to publish her book. Shortly after her and her husband move to Queens she grows tired of her uninspired life. She loves cooking and decides to cook 524 recipes from Julia Child's cook book in 365 days and write a blog about it. Well, french cooking is not as easy as Julia Child makes it look and with a full time job the task becomes way more difficult then she ever imagines but also yields amazing rewards that she never thought possible.

• This movie is very touching. So many 30 something woman can identify with feeling like they are going nowhere fast and have somehow ended up in their 30's with nothing to show for it.
• I am actually a Julie myself except I have not ever written a book. Successful friends and a cubicle job. Wouldn't it be amazing to have her fairy tale story?
• I really love Amy Adams. She is perfect in this role. She has such a real and endearing quality about her that plays perfectly.
• Meryl Streep does a great job mirroring Julia Child's high pitched style of speech and they did an amazing job of making her look taller then she is.
• The movie switches back and forth between Julia Powell and Julia Child but it's never confusing. It's just fun.

5 Stars

Sunshine Cleaning

Comedy/Drama, 2008 (Rated R)

Starring: Emily Blunt, Amy Adams

Rose was the popular cheerleader in school but her life has not exactly panned out the way she had hoped. She enlists her sister Norah to go into business together in the "niche" industry of crime scene post-mortem clean up in their small town.

• Rose is a 30 something single mom struggling to make it. She just wants to feel good about herself and her life. It's a story about a woman finding her way but without all the glitz of movies like Confessions of a Shopaholic.
• So many woman including myself can probably identify with Rose. Nobody wants to be the popular cheerleader who ends up a failure.
• Oh boy, I would not have the stomach to do what they do. Just regular cleaning up after folks would be hard for me without all of the blood and guts.
• There is a scene in the movie where Rose (Amy Adams) is in bed waiting for her lover and she is wearing a lavender chemise with white polka dots from Victoria's Secret. I know this because I have the very same one!! It's one of my favorites.
• I really liked this movie.

4 STARS