Opened: August 7, 2009

Directed by: Nora Ephron

Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Jane Lynch, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Joan Juliet Buck, Amanda Hesser, Deborah Rush, Vanessa Ferlito, Casey Wilson, Jillian Bach, Frances Sternhagen, Françoise Lebrun, Mary Kay Place, Erin Dilly & Brooks Ashmanskas

Wonderfully balancing two different timelines that don’t intersect, writer-director Nora Ephron’s last film before her death is a fun, feminist piece.

Unfulfilled with her job, Julie Powell (Amy Adams) decides to blog her way through cooking the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) cookbook within 365 days. About 50 years before this, Julia Child and her diplomat husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) move to Paris where she learns how to cook.

To be expected, Streep is marvelous as Child. She puts the gusto into the chef known for her positive personality. And Adams’ Julie is relatable in wanting to make a life change.

What’s great is watching these two characters persevere against the people who doubt them. Their success, especially Child’s in the French male dominated culinary world, is inspiring.

Final say: Cementing Ephron’s legacy. ★★★★★