It is not too often that there is a movie that doesn’t feature a cliché plot or include intense special effects that make up the entiry of the film. (Yes, I’m looking at you Michael Bay.) Not that I have anything against these movies, but Julie & Julia offers a refreshing taste of what a movie should be: entertaining. Julie & Julia is about the lives of Julie Powell, a 30-year-old woman who is stuck in a dead-end job and wants more in life, and Julia Child, the prodigal chef who taught us that cooking can be something that we all can all do.

The movie follows Julia’s ascent from someone who knew just the basics of cooking through the publishing of her famous book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Conversely, Julie starts writing a blog where she cooks her way through Child’s book in a year. Unlike most blogs on the internet, which are usually full of preteen complaints about how “mom made me do chores,” I am glad that this story was made into a movie. With Meryl Streep as Julia Child, and Amy Adams as Powell, you can’t go wrong. Streep’s personality makes this movie what it is, and throughout the entire film I forgot that she wasn’t actually Julia Child. Streep and Adams are the perfect duo, and help add comedy and insight into this movie.

As I said, this movie was exactly what I have been looking for so long in a film: it was entertaining, it had substance, and it featured delicious food. If your TV is always set on the Food Network, or you are looking for a quality movie with substance, go see Julie & Julia. With award-winning actors and based on not one but two true stories, this movie is sure to please — and sure to win an award!