Author Julie Powell opines on how she was portrayed in the feature film 'Julie & Julia.'
(Getty Images)
Our cat Maxine died last week at the age of 17 without ever knowing that she'd been portrayed on the big screen.
In mourning her this week, I can't help but think about the movie version of Maxine with mixed feelings. "Julie & Julia" – well, half of it, anyway – is based on my 2005 memoir of the same name, and in that book, Maxine played a not-inconsiderable role.
In the film, screenwriter/director Nora Ephron had to cram into two hours the stories of two very different women in different eras: the great Julia Child on one side of the Atlantic, and little 'ole me on the other. Thankfully, she managed to squeeze in the character of Julie Powell's cat as something more than a walk-on. My brother didn't get as much screen time – and neither, I can't help noticing, did Julia's own cat, Minette.
I'm grateful that Maxine got into the movie at all. Still, as the Julie Powell character – played by the excellent, un-me-like Amy Adams – pouts in the film, while discussing the depiction of herself in a (fictional, by the way) New York magazine article, "There was so much more!"
"Maxine" – she remains unnamed in the credits, but there is no question of who the character is based on – is played by a vivacious, ginger-coated animal actor named Terry, with sass and a jaunty trot.
Terry is a fine cat, well-trained, who manages to make the character of "Maxine" likeable, memorable, and not too cutesy – quite a feat given the limitations of the script. Terry has a couple of important scenes: She is masterful, for instance, as the watchful kitty who first notices the boeuf bourguignon is burning while "Julie Powell" lays passed out on the couch after too many gimlets (that part is totally true, by the way).
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