"Julie & Julia" is the only movie you'll see this year in which the character with the chef's knife doesn't kill somebody.

The only knife victim in this warm and likable comedy-drama is a lobster that Julia Child butchers in order to show her male cooking-school classmates that she's as macho as they are.

Food guru Child, of course, is the Julia of the title. Julia Child wrote ground-breaking cookbooks and became the first TV celebrity food star. Her ebullience, eccentric presence and above all her mastery of the kitchen, endeared her to millions of readers and viewers.

She's played by Meryl Streep, who nails Child's glass-breaking falsetto and ungainly body mannerisms. Bet you're surprised there. Judging by the size of the audience at Friday's opening and its enthusiasm, this looks like another "Mama Mia!" Streep is not only a great actress, she has a golden box-office touch.

The Julie of the title is Julie Powell, a New Yorker who feels like life is passing her by. By day she works as a secretary for a government agency devoted to the aftermath of Sept. 11. In her off hours, she dreams of being a writer.

At the urging of her husband, she decides to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days and blog about her experiences. A book -- the movie's namesake -- resulted. Winsome Amy Adams plays Julie.

Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron combines Powell's memoir with Child's memoir, "My Life in France." The result is a tasty mixed grill of humor, marital devotion and food. Above all, though, it's a story about two women of different generations who find their life's direction through cooking.

Child's portion of the movie begins in France following World War II. Husband Paul has been assigned to the American embassy in Paris and Julia's first French meal is a revelation. Still, she doesn't know what to do with herself. She tries her hand at hat-making and then bridge until her husband makes her realize her true passion is eating. Stanley Tucci plays the low-key but sophisticated Paul in a finely tuned, convincing performance. Julia's appetite leads her to a legendary cooking school and the rest is history.

Julie's yarn begins in 2002 while she and husband Eric are moving into a walk-up in Queens. Her friends are spectacularly successful and she cringes each time they meet for lunch when the cellphones come out and the deals are made. But fortune smiles and her blog takes off.

Part of the movie's appeal develops from the devotion of both women's husbands. The only blip on Paul Child's radar is his inability to deal with a mountain of onions. As Eric Powell, Chris Messina shows a little less patience with his wife's increasing meltdowns -- but these are both loving and supportive husbands.

Ephron ("Sleepless in Seattle") keeps the movie lively though she takes some of the spice out of Julie Powell's book. The writer-director retains some of the earthy humor and the sensuality that nourishes both marriages. But she jettisons a lot of fun literary and political observations that Julie makes throughout her memoir. Adams is appealing but she could have had more caustic, sarcastic bite from the book's Julie.

Still, Ephron had a lot to deal with considering the wealth of material she had to reduce to a two-hour movie. What she serves up is a handsome, entertaining production with characters you pull for even though you know where their stories are going.