Julie And Julia

Aroview: The biography of legendary chef Julia Child is puzzingly intertwined with the story of Julie Powell, who in 2002 challenged herself to cook everything in Child's first book.

Streep is pitch-perfect as the exuberent Child, her performance reportedly inspired by the woman herself and Streep's own eccentric mother. Well-matched by onscreen husband Tucci and equally ungainly sister (Jane Lynch, an all-too-brief highlight), Child's story of culinary courage is an absolute delight. It is a pity, then, that Adams proves much harder to swallow as the New York blogger who spends most of her screen time crying and whining about her self-inflicted task. Perhaps the mistake was to base this otherwise charming biography on the real-life Powell's popular blog.

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