Julia: Bûche De Noël shares some good laughs, twin David Hyde Pierces, and the sad realization that for all the things that have changed, things are still the same.
Julia: Bûche De Noël impressed me for the umpteenth time with what good actors this series uses. Such pros these people are, so subtle but effective. A sigh, a downcast eye, a curl of the lip, a swing of the hip – the tiniest details make it feel so real and alive.
Hunter (Robert Joy) is ecstatic about the money the station can make from product placement on “The French Chef.” Julia (Sarah Lancashire) is not pleased.
Paul Child’s (David Hyde Pierce) twin brother Charlie (you know who) shows up just before the big Life Magazine interview is to take place. Charlie treats Paul as lesser because he’s content living in Julia’s shadow. Julia is not pleased.
Avis (Bebe Neuwirth) celebrates her new-found sexual freedom by dancing in the kitchen while Stanley (Danny Burstein) makes breakfast. She can’t bear to be away from him for more than a few minutes, which cuts down her Julia time. Julia is not pleased.
Alice (Brittany Bradford) and Elaine (Rachel Bloom) put together a wonderful “By Women for Women” pilot about access to birth control. Hunter nixed it because the host was a woman of color. No one is pleased.
The writer from Life Magazine (Michael Esper) has a grudge against Judith Jones (Fiona Glascott) because she rejected his novel. Everyone is afraid he will write an unfavorable article about Julia because of it. Judith gave him some good advice, right after she told him to stop whining.
I was laughing out loud at some of the lines in this episode. Considering the thematic material involved – honestly, racism, male privilege, friendship, women’s rights, reproductive rights, and family dynamics – I thought the laughs were a wonderful bonus.
There was no one special scene in this episode. It did what Julia does best. Put multiple characters in action to create a portrait of the life and times of our favorite French chef and the world of 1960s America. It’s fictional, but it’s real.
Erica Dunton directed this episode. It’s streaming on Max. Please share your thoughts on this episode in the comments. 🙂
Discover more from Old Ain't Dead
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.