Julie and Julia (2009) * * *

Directed by:  Nora Ephron

Starring:  Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina

Julie and Julia is about two women half a century apart who discover their passions and find their identities through cooking.    It doesn't sound thrilling, I know, but the movie is sweet and likable regardless.     Mostly because we like Meryl Streep and Amy Adams so much, plus the food looks scrumptious.

Streep plays the famed chef Julia Child, who became so popular on TV at one point her voice and face were instantly recognizable.    Dan Aykroyd lampooned her masterfully on Saturday Night Live.    The Julie of the title is Julie Powell (Adams), an aspiring writer who creates a blog and sets a goal to cook all 524 recipes in Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days.   The ingredients alone must have cost a fortune.   

Julia's story starts in early 1950s Paris.   She is married to Paul Child, a diplomat who adores her.     She takes up cooking for something to do and ends up being a natural chef.     Julia decides to write a cookbook, which goes through years of edits, rewrites, and moves all over Europe before it is finally published.     Julie's story starts in 2002 Queens, where she lives with her husband Eric (Messina) in a small apartment above a pizzeria.     Julie hates her job as a telephone customer service agent and longs to be a writer.     Her new blog gives her a chance to follow her two passions:  Writing and cooking.    While Julia's passion does not harm her relationship with Paul, Julie's quest puts a strain on her marriage to Eric.    He even walks out for a few days in protest of her single-minded obsession.

We follow these two intriguing and intercutting stories .    Streep has Child's voice and mannerisms down flawlessly, though the movie does some nice camera trickery to make her stand 6'2".    Because Julie is played by the effortlessly likable Amy Adams, we find Julie effortlessly likable, even when she has occasional breakdowns because she burns the chicken or the beef needs salt.     We like the actresses, so we buy into their stories more than if they were played by less agreeable stars. 

Streep earned one of her gaggle of Oscar nominations for Best Actress for this film.    Her career is nothing short of amazing.    Ever since she debuted in 1977's Julia (oddly enough), her career has never had a downswing.    She is a miraculous talent.     I also find Amy Adams one of the best and brightest actresses of the past decade, which I'm sure I've repeated often in reviews of her films.      Julie and Julia uses their talents to full effect and helps create a sweet, light story which made me hungry for some of Julia Child's chicken dishes.