Normally I’d say that adapting two books in one movie is a fool’s errand, sometimes there’s so much book in just one that the movie feels light by comparison. Such an experiment seems far outside the ordinary prevue of filmmaker Nora Ephron, the woman behind such pedestrian fare as Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail and Bewitched. In an astounding feat of syncopation though, Ephron has found a formula that works, telling parallel stories that are about a romance we can all relate to: food. A great cast, a mostly solid script and a lot of common themes give Ephron much to work with, and what she cooks is probably one of her best films.

The two books in question are Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. Powell is a writer who in 2002 was stuck in a rut as a government cubicle worker. Looking for a way to expand her horizons she started the “Julie/Julia Project,” which was a blog that followed Powell’s progress as she tried to cook the over 500 recipes that make up Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Julie’s year long odyssey is juxtaposed with Child’s years in Paris. Child moved there in 1949 when her husband Paul, an employee of the US State Department, was assigned to the American Embassy. Looking for a way to fill her days, Child studied at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, starting her on the road to becoming the first, and possibly most renowned, celebrity chef in America.

It may be Powell’s story that got the ball rolling, but it’s the Child portion that really sings. By and large this has to do with the portrayal of the chef by Meryl Streep, who fills Ms. Child’s ample shoes with tremendous presence and light-hearted aplomb. Of course, Streep is a tremendous actress, we all know that, but disappearing behind Child’s pearls Streep blurs the lines between acting and impersonation. Well paired with Streep is her Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci playing Paul Child. They make an adorable odd couple, both grounded and romantic. By far the Julia portions of Julie & Julia are strongest, mostly thanks to the enormous (both psychologically and literally, given Child’s 6’2” frame) presence of Streep.

As for Julie, played by Amy Adams, she’s not without her charms either, although I think her story kind of strains at times. On the one hand I found that the story didn’t go deep enough into the challenge Powell put before herself; there weren’t a lot of scenes of trial and error, or things gone wrong, or the occasions where working a full-time job and taking on a massive cooking project conflicted. The whole fight between Powell and her husband (played by Chris Messina) seemed tacked on to create some kind of conflict, but it was rather unconvincing. But all-in-all it did provide a nice counterbalance to Child’s story, the trouble is that this was supposed to be Powell’s story for the most part.

Julie & Julia is nothing less than a pleasant film with two strong female characters in its centre. Ephron for the most part keeps things well balanced with the two though I imagine at some point during the editing process the real star of the film became apparent. In the end though, you’ll leave the theatre feeling filled with good human cheer and perhaps a little peckish after having so many fabulous dishes shoved under your nose during the two hour running time. If there’s an apt culinary comparison, think of Julie & Julia as comfort food, served well and made with classic ingredients. It’s impossible to resist, and I dare anyone to try and not want to ask for seconds.