I finished watching "Julie & Julia" last night (SFX: gag reflex).

I'm sure Amy Adams did what she was directed to do, but I don't understand how Norah Ephron expected us to sympathize with a character who constantly whines and hates her friends - professional, self-assured women who seem to feel empowered in life.

I also realized that I've never liked Nora Ephron movies, I just thought I did because she has a vagina, and so do I. In fact, I don't really remember any of them, except "When Harry Met Sally," which she didn't write alone. All I remember is Meg Ryan making exasperated cute faces and conversations between women about how their lives suck. In "Julie & Julia," she manages to miss all the punchlines and doesn't know when to CUT TO:...much like myself.

However, unlike me, Nora Ephron makes lots of money making movies with high profile actors, like Meryl Streep. So, obviously, she knows a few things that I don't. Anyway, the real lesson that came out of "Julie & Julia" is that a woman hating herself while she "finds herself" is not fun to watch. In fact, I have now decided that the definition of "Chick Lit" = movies by and for women who accept self-hatred as an inherent part of their womanhood. It's not.

Just for today, a movie directed by a woman can make me want to puke.