Seen on: August 7, 2009

The players: Director: Nora Ephron, Writer: Nora Ephron, Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Jane Lynch

Facts of interest: Based on the books by Julie Powell and Julia Child.

The plot: Follows the stories of Julia Child, an American chef writing a cookbook in Europe; and Julie Powell, who tries to cook herself through Child's book.

Our thoughts: Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia” is a delightful little comedy that will feed your soul and warm your heart. Boasting a couple of terrific performances and based on two true stories, the film follows two individuals whose passions for food help them create the perfect recipe for happiness.

Meryl Streep stars as Julia Child, a determined American chef who spent some of her most exciting years in Paris, where she attended cooking school and started an ambitious cookbook while her beloved husband Paul (a phenomenal Stanley Tucci) worked as an exhibits officer with the U.S. Information Agency.

The second story the film focuses on is that of Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a New York writer whose boring cubicle job and passion for cooking eventually inspire her to start a blog documenting how she uses Julia Child’s cookbook to try all of her 524 recipes during a period of 365 days.

This sets the stage for what happens next in “Julie & Julia,” a simple but refreshing comedy stuffed with delicious humor, plenty of tasty food, and a heart-warming story about two women who declare war on their boring existence by spicing it up with two challenging projects that will eventually help them find the bliss they’ve been desperately seeking.

It goes without saying that Meryl Streep easily manages to steal every scene she’s in. As expected, she’s truly the top ingredient in “Julie & Julia,” and the energy and humor she injects into her role as the eccentric Julia Child are simply addicting. Adams brings along some charm as well, but she’s nowhere nearly as powerful as Streep.

Ephron, whose credits include romances such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail,” also wrote the script for the film, and although I applaud her for creating a light comedy that delivers plenty of entertainment, I feel she could’ve added a bit more spice to the two stories. Especially Powell’s story could’ve been a bit more developed.

Freaky quote: "I'm Julia Child. Bon appétit." – Meryl Streep

The final word: Thanks to the splendid performances by Streep, Tucci and Chris Messina (Powell’s husband), the film works just fine. At two hours, “Julie & Julia” is a tad too long, but luckily enough, Streep’s superb acting skills and all those yummy recipes make for some excellent big-screen fun. Bon appétit!

Article by Franck Tabouring