Julie Johnson

JULIE JOHNSON is a quiet little film that deals with the frustrations facing a New Jersey housewife and mother who married and birthed before she graduated high school and finds herself in a rigid relationship, longing for knowledge to change things. She considers herself stupid, sneaks Science magazines to read when her overbearing husband isn't around, and finally gathers the courage (while staring at the stars one night) to change her plight. She takes a computer course, passes her GED and with the constant support of her dearest girlfriend gathers the courage to get out of the stifling marriage with her husband and study to improve her lot in life. Along the way she discovers other secrets about herself, buried in the facade of a life she has led. She changes, relates to the world in a different way, and refuses to settle for returning to 'the old life' when her husband returns promising her change. Her relationship with her girlfriend proceeds to intimate levels, but in the end this friendship cannot last, as her girlfriend doesn't have the same goals.

The story is simple, but in the hands of the writers Wendy Hammond and Bob Gosse and with Gosse's fine direction, the entire cast gives us an ensemble of disparate characters in whom we can all believe. Lili Taylor plays the lead with extraordinary skill and as her girlfriend Courtney Love gives a bravura performance. The remainder of the cast (Spalding Gray, Noah Emmerich, Gideon Jacobs, Mischa Barton, et al) is likewise strong. But it is Taylor's film and she offers one of her most poignant performances of her career. A thoughtful, sensitive, engrossing film.

Let's get the important stuff out of the way first: there are no scenes of Courtney and Lili gobbling each other up. Yeah, that's a disappointment, but so it goes.

The performances were excellent, and somewhat believable, except for the sudden emergence of an older, uneducated suburban housewife as a scientific prodigy. Yeah, that happens all the time. That was the only plot device that didn't fly, but it really ruins the rest of the movie. You just can't see this woman suddenly discovering she is a genius, a lesbian, and her independence all at the same time.

She suddenly discovers she's a lesbian? Sure, why not. That one works. But why does it have to involve her tossing her husband out on the street? How is it his fault? Lesbians don't have any feelings for people who have supported and loved them? She suddenly discovers she's in love with her best friend. Yeah, that one works, too. It throws an interesting twist into the film and Courtney Love delivers one of her better performances here.

She suddenly discovers she's a genius? This is where it breaks down. She never showed the slightest sign of intelligence before, but now she's a prodigy. Unfortunately for her husband, she's not smart enough to treat him with any dignity or respect, but she's smart enough to write cryptographic algorithms even though she never graduated high school. If it wasn't for this lame, unnecessary and ignorant part of the movie, I'd say it was a great independent and lesbian film.

Julie Johnson could have been the average housewife who discovers she's a lesbian and is in love with her best friend. That would have made a good film. But she's suddenly a spiteful genius, and that doesn't make a good film. Too bad.

While there are some genuine moments between the characters portrayed by Lili Taylor and Courtney Love, the film as a whole is an unbelievable clunker that rings terribly false. The previously unrecognized scientific talent of the Taylor character is an unnecessary plot device; the story would be much more interesting if she was an average working-class woman seeking to continue her education. The characters, especially her husband, are portrayed as two-dimensional cliches. With a more talented director at the helm, this film might have been a good one, but Julie Johnson lacks the nuance and subtlety that make a film compelling.

i loved lili taylor in this movie. and although there were some scenes that were truly well done, engaging and enjoyable, i have to agree with the other comments so far: something was missing, something just wasn´t right. it seems to me that someone wasn´t totally sure what the movie was to be about, what its main focus should be. julie´s suddenly discovered academic talents somehow ring false, there is nothing here that would explain them or make them believable. i was expecting an upbeat movie, and although the direction the story took in the end made sense, it wasn´t exactly satisfying. for anyone who wants to see rebelling housewives or who just wants to see lili taylor and courtney love ACT (or kiss each other), i would recommend this one though.