As refreshing as whipped crème and raspberries, this film is a rare summer treat! The story follows the life of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and her husband Paul Child (Stanley Tucci) through her memoirs “My Life in France” dating back to 1949, when she was just a mere woman in a kitchen who could barely speak French. Paralleling her life is Julie (Amy Adams) in a role of a young insurance claims officer in 2002, who believes she can not only start a cooking blog, but can bake her way through all of Julia Child’s recipes in 365 days. Adams takes on a modern Meg Ryan in her role which would make sense since the film is directed by the great Nora Ephron (famous for a long history of Meg Ryan successes.) Streep is dead-on hilarious as Child’s big brute of a man-woman standing over 6 foot tall and clearly shot on a camera angle to make her seem an elephant in every culinary room. But it’s her voice that is right-on. By the second half of the film, you’ll wonder how Meryl Streep continued to speak in that high-strung voice without needing soothing throat lozenges. For all of you house wives who can’t boil an egg know that there’s hope. Child apparently failed her cooking test several times before being taken seriously enough to get a book published in America. The movie touches on the simplicity of an American girl trying to understand a world of “Bon Appetite” while Child’s French snobbery is absolutely delicious, especially when she inquires “What is Marshmallow Fluff?” Four tiaras
