Julia (2022)

Lancashire captures all of Julia's larger-than-life qualities. ... Julia feeds the soul to the brim. [11 - 24 Apr 2022, p.6]

And so the show and the show within the show are a little chaotic and overambitious. But they are still as joyous as a rich, buttery sauce poured over a lobster à l’Américaine, or a French peach no less divine for its imperfections. As Julia (and Julia) reminds us, things don’t have to be flawless to be delicious.

Thus far there are no surprises, just resplendent competence.

Lancashire is much more naturalistic than Streep, giving us her character’s fury and self-doubt as well as her scheming and charisma.

When “Julia” works best, we’re on the set of the TV show or at home or at dinners with Julia and Paul and their closest friends. Sarah Lancashire captures Julia’s essence without delving into impersonation, while David Hyde Pierce infuses Paul with humanity and heart.

It indulges in clichés without self-consciousness or self-awareness. It’s an earnestness that won’t be for everybody, but being conventional doesn’t preclude occasional fun bits of media-savvy insight, an abundance of well-photographed food and a towering — in every sense — central performance from Sarah Lancashire.

An intermittently charming biographical hodgepodge on HBO Max.

It's a bold move to take on a biopic of Julia Child after Meryl Streep did such a wonderful job in Julie & Julia. Fortunately, Sarah Lancashire has succeeded beautifully, creating the famed chef as a sweet, charming, peculiar and delightful character. The series revolves around the creation of her famous TV show The French Chef, delving into the challenges she faced from the stuffy PBS execs. It also depicts the people on her side who helped make the show happen. This includes the support from her devoted husband (played with earnest love by David Hyde Pierce). The series offers wonderful insight into the times, the cooking show and her personal life, all anchored by Lancashire's captivating performance. (Review based on the first 3 of eight 60-minute episodes. The 5 additional will be released each Thursday thru 5/5.)