Julie & Julia

There’s half of a really good movie here. Meryl Streep is a delight as Julia Child, in France with her loving husband (Stanley Tucci) learning the art of French cuisine—on her way to legendary status. Unfortunately, we also get a present-day story about an annoying, self-pitying woman (Amy Adams) who takes up the major challenge of cooking all the recipes in Child’s cookbook in a year for her blog. When the movie focuses on Child, it’s a winner. When it swings back to Adams, it stops in its tracks. Adams is usually enjoyable, but she’s given a battle she can’t win with this character. I also can’t stand it when people talk with their mouths full in movies. It drives me nuts. Streep’s portion of the movie gets a high rating, but the Adams portion is super-dull. A Julia Child autobiography would’ve been just fine.