If a true story is turned into a movie, it’s usually because it’s supposed to very inspirational. Most of the time, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.

Yesterday, I watched “Julie & Julia”. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in a movie directed by Nora Ephron, what more can you ask for? And if that wasn’t enough, the movie also tells the true story of two women who discover their passion and manage to change their entire life while pursuing it.

So, considering that I love Nora Ephron movies, that I think that Meryl Streep is among the best actresses, if not THE best actress of our time, and that I’m usually a sucker for that kind of inspiring, how-to-change-your-life storylines in movies, you would think that “Julie & Julia” now has a top spot on the list of my favorite movies, right?

Well, it doesn’t, and here is why. When the movie ended, there was one thing that really, really bothered me, that I felt was missing to make the ending a happy one, at least for me.

In the movie, Julia Child became an inspiration for Julie Powell, she became her hero. Julie Powell admired Julia Child and credited her for turning her life around, for helping her find a meaning in life. She described her like she knew her, and she talked about feeling like Julia Child was standing right beside her when she cooked, like she was looking over her shoulder.

Aside from the fact that those last statements sounded a little arrogant to me, it made me wonder why she never tried to get in touch with and get to know the “real” Julia? Julia Child was still alive when Julie Powell started to write her blog. In fact, we learn in the movie that she knew the blog, and didn’t like it. So why doesn’t Julie try to find out the reasons for Julia Child’s disapproval from herself, personally, instead of speculating with her husband?

Maybe the real Julie Powell did. Or maybe it wasn’t actually about the real Julia Child, but about an idea of her, an image that Julie Powell created for herself and that didn’t necessarily have to be realistic. Which is okay if it worked for her, but which is why the story doesn’t work for me.

When I left home to go to university, back in the mid-nineties, I suffered from a severe case of homesickness. One thing that would distract me from it, that made me feel less alone for at least half an hour every week, was watching a little show called “Ellen”. And even though it was an ensemble show, I especially watched it because of the woman who played the title character: Ellen DeGeneres.

A few years later, Ellen DeGeneres publicly announced that she is a lesbian on TV and on the cover of Time Magazine. Her openness helped a lot of people to come to terms with their sexuality, and I was one of them. I needed someone who I liked and admired to show me that it was okay to feel how I felt for another woman. Ellen did that and so much more.

And if that wasn’t enough, Ellen was even the inspiration for writing online and creating my very first website. Which means that if it wasn’t for her, I would probably not even have this blog that you’re reading at the moment.

So, to sum it all up: Ellen DeGeneres is my Julia Child. And even though she lives not only in a different country, but on a different continent, I dreamed of one day having the chance to see her in person. I wanted to know what she was like – not the actress, not the comedian, but the “real” Ellen.

Of course, I had my doubts. What if the woman who had become so important to me, so inspirational, wasn’t a nice person at all? Would I be able to deal with that? And why did it matter what she was like? Couldn’t I just let her actions and her art speak for herself?

I couldn’t, and I’m glad that I didn’t, because in the fall of 2007, I found myself in the audience of her talk show, with weak knees and butterflies in my stomach, face to face with my “Julia Child” – and she was like I had hoped her to be and so much more.

So that’s why personally, I didn’t find Julie Powell’s story so inspiring, at least when it comes to her relationship with her idol.

Because in that regard, I like my own story better.

Yep, I’m there — I was in the audience of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on October 2, 2007.
If you know me, see if you can spot me. If you don’t, maybe you can make a guess?

If a true story is turned into a movie, it's usually because it's supposed to very inspirational. Most of the time, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't.