I Make Movie Review-Julie and Julia

Saying Meryl Streep's latest performance is great is like stating that cake is bad for you or Michael Jackson was occasionally a tad loopy; it's just a fact of life. But in Julie and Julia, the savory stunner of a Julia Child biopic, Streep outdoes herself. Decked out in high heels and bewigged with a brown hairpiece to play do-it-yourself American chef, she doesn't just nail the walk, the laugh, the famous sing-song voice-she digs deeper, making Julia a deeply prideful, deliciously animated bon vivant, at once larger-than-life and utterly human. In what may come to be her defining performance, She takes risks that pay off big time-and oughta earn her her 192034903904930902940935093431 billionth Oscar, too. This is an exemplary star turn-it's just flat-out unmissable. Streep's magnificent, laudable high-wire act of a performance is the special ingredient that makes this dish so tasty. But the rest of the recipe ain't half-bad, either. Take Amy Adams, a sassy wonder as Julie Powell, a modern day New Yorker whose in-the-kitchen odyssey becomes a parallel story to Child's. Or Stanley Tucci, who offers such a touching portrait of pure devotion as Paul Child. Or Chris Messina, who makes the old cliche of Husband Pushed Aside work again. Or Mary Lynn Rajskub, Linda Emond, Helen Carey-splendid, memorable performances all. The attention to period detail is nothing short of remarkable, Alexandre Desplat's score shimmers, and Nora Ephron writes and directs with a tart insightfulness that more than makes up for her recent flops. The laughs and tears come with such frequency that the movie's 123 minutes fly by. Oh, and the food looks GOOD. The only downside of Julie and Julia-an unexpected summer surprise that ranks among the year's very best-is that, with all the mouth-watering food onscreen, you'll leave hungry. But you'll also leave full in a way, smiling and more than satisfied with a creation as hearty, rich, and rhapsodic as the lady it celebrates. A.