Ricki and the Flash

First thing: it was smart for Diablo Cody to write that Ricki (Meryl Streep, of course it's her) and the Flash (one of them Rick Springfield of all people, he's real good by the way) as bar musicians in this present day and age. Would they, or could they, be playing more legitimate venues? Possibly. But it's clear as day that Ricki (not her real name, but as she jokes she was 'born really as Ricki') is not leading some great revolution of music - she just likes playing her covers of classic rock songs (with some new stuff, she doesn't leave the 'young people' out of Lady Gaga and Pink).

It shows her and her group at a point in life that isn't the most ideal, but they can get by and play music in front of some kind of audience. This is her at her happiest and most in control, as in her day life, working as a cashier at a chain grocery store (always having to keep a smile on her face, as the condescending boss says), and in her personal life (her family hasn't spoken to her in a long time) it's messy to put it lightly, due to the thing of leaving away to go and follow her dreams.

Ricki is not a sympathetic character, and this follows along with Cody from some other protagonists she's had (remember Young Adult), but also for Jonathan Demme, who has his first (relatively wide-release) fiction feature in seven years, and his own previous film, Rachel Getting Married, was about another family f***-up who doesn't know how to get back in good graces, or even how to say the right things. I don't meant to make comparisons through this whole review, just to point out some interesting similarities, which end pretty much there aside from both movies also having weddings. In this case of 'Ricki', her daughter is in personal turmoil - Kevin Kline, father of her kids and ex, tells her that her husband left her for another woman and her marriage has effectively fallen apart - so she rushes to help her. How can she help her? In reality, Ricki's daughter tried to kill herself.

Some deep stuff dramatically speaking is going on in the movie. So why is this actually kind of, sort of, a 'light' movie, in a sense? I think Demme is smart to keep Cody's script this way, and to trust the instincts of the material; there's no easy way to help Julie (Streep's own daughter, Mamie Gummer) except to make sure she gets the therapy she needs and attention she needs. In one fell swoop Ricki does one and not the other, by taking her to get her hair and nails done and missing her therapy appointment. It's a fun little scene - uh oh, she's using the family credit card again, wop-wop - but there are consequences. And yet what's also good is that Cody not only isn't shy of going to those awkward, cringe-type of scenes, she embraces them. The obvious one is when the family goes out to a dinner, and Ricki's estranged sons (one engaged, which she was ignorant of, and one gay, also ignorant but not in a good way). But watch as Maureen, the new wife and mother for so many years to Ricki's kids, lays it down as to why she really has to leave: what can she REALLY do here for her daughter? That Ricki's just out of the shower adds to the, shall one say, nakedness of the emotional truth here.

Yes, there's some goofy stuff here, like the family finding some pot and smoking it and having some munchies and late-night guitar strumming, but Demme handles it without anything feeling too false or sitcomy. In the wrong hands this could be really disastrous, maudlin stuff. I think it's not a great film by any stretch, but the filmmakers are in sync with one another, and even find ways to make songs played on stage into dramatic beats; Streep and Springfield aren't just singing songs, they're acting and going through some emotional crises of their own, in small and big ways, all down to what it means to be a parent for one's child (love, as it turns out, is the thing a parent must do for their kids, not necessarily the other way around if it comes to it).

So while there are some serious issues dealt with here - depression and suicide, marriage and relationships, abandonment issues, and what love can be shown as - music and a light, mostly comic touch, helps to level out the material. Indeed the climax is done almost like one of those old-time rock n roll movies (Demme has in the past decades done his share of rock docs, and his knack for finding the right angle and cuts shows very well), and as the band plays on at a wedding people can either get up and get into the music, or sit down like schlubs and not get into it. It's a nice, uplifting way to reach a conclusion to this story, especially considering what Ricki's done and gone through, an otherwise flawed and damaged individual (and as usual given a nice turn via Streep), and that music is the one thing that a) she's really good at, far as this kind of music goes on this level, and b) the family can see the good in her when she plays it. It's sincere, but heartfelt stuff.

The big surprise to me was Meryl Streep with a guitar. Turns out Meryl pulled this off really well, alongside Rick Springfield and Meryl also has a great voice for Rock & Roll. I've seen it in a lot of flicks where it was clearly evident that the actor or actress with a musical instrument was not actually playing, just by observing their hand movements with the musical instrument but in this movie Meryl appears to be playing, and rather well at that.

Corny, shallow plot line that's been played out on the Silver Screen so many times it isn't even funny but the novelty of this flick is that we get to see a terrific actress demonstrate yet another talent that proves her versatility as a professional actor. The movie's teaser poster suggests that and that is what we get. I reckon not a lot of actors can pull that off as smoothly as Meryl did in this flick.

Definitely worth a look while it is still in a theatre in your town.

I have seen every movie made by Meryl Streep and I think she is a GREAT movie actress. Having said that, this movie is vile! The only positive thing that can be said is that the other actors did not embarrass themselves like she did. Not for one second did I buy her as Ricki. It is the only sub-par performance of her career. Now the script and dialog - imagine a soap opera from the fifties. PLot - from the silent era in subtlety. Direction - the wedding scene is flat out incompetent in that not a single character reaction rings true. Now, Meryl's voice is not unpleasant, nor is it any good. For some reason, she tortures the audience with mediocre performance after mediocre performance for what felt like hours. By the way, I really hated this movie

"Ricki and the Flash" (2015 release; 101 min.) brings the story of Ricki (played by Meryl Streep), an aging cover band singer-guitarist. As the movie opens, we find ourselves in the Tarzana (LA) neighborhood bar The Salt Well, where Ricki and her mates are bringing us Tom Petty's "American Girl". The next day we see her at work as a cashier in a local grocery store. Ricki gets a call from her ex (played by Kevin Kline) in Indianapolis, who informs her that their daughter Julie (played by Mamie Gummer) is depressed as a result of her failing marriage. Ricki immediately flies out to Indy to comfort her daughter. At this point we're not even 15 minutes into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: the movie is directed by noted rock documentarian Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense; several Neil Young docs). Here he finds himself in familiar territory. The script is courtesy of Diabolo Cody (Juno, Young Adult). I have to tell you that I was surprised how utterly predictable the entire story line is in "Ricki and the Flash", I mean, not a single surprise or other deviation from a straight-forward path. I had expected more from Cody. Demme tries the best with the rather weak material. What should've been real tension between Streep's character and her kids, comes off pretty weak. The best line comes deep in the movie when her ex comments: "It's not the kids' job to love you, it's your job to love them!" So true. The one and only reason to watch this film is of course the timeless Meryl Streep, who easily looks about 15-20 years younger than her actual age (66, if you can believe it). Gummer (in the role of Julie) is Streep's real life daughter but you could easily mistake them for sisters. The movie's shooting was delayed so as to give Streep enough time to learn the guitar (Streep wouldn't have it any other way!). There are some nice side performances as well, none more so than Rick Springfield as her band made and romantic interest Greg. Kevin Kline as the ex is quite good too. The music plays a big role in the movie obviously, and in the end credits it is noted that the live music is performed by Rick and the Flash. Along the way, we get covers of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and many others. Bottom line: "Ricki and the Flash" is an okay but ultimately uneven and forgettable movie that stars one of the best actresses this country has ever seen. There is a reason why this movie only has a 59 on Rotten Tomatoes...

The movie opened nationwide this weekend. Despite my misgivings for this film, I ended going to see this right away. The matinée screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was very nicely attended actually. If you like movies with a heavy emphasis on bar music, or are simply a fan of Meryl Streep, I encourage you to check out "Ricki and the Flash", be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

It has to be tough to be the child of a living legend, especially in show business, but Mamie Gummer seems to be handling it quite well, thank you very much. The oldest daughter of multiple Oscar winner Meryl Streep, Gummer is making a name for herself in the family business. Like Emilio Estevez (son of Martin Sheen) and Angelina Jolie (daughter of Jon Voight), Gummer uses a family name (her father's last name) while establishing her own identity in film (and television). Like Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith), Gummer has joined her famous parent on screen while developing her acting skills. As a toddler, Gummer had a role in her mother's movie "Heartburn" (1987). As an adult, Gummer played a younger version of her mother's character in 2007's "Evening". (Gummer also had a brief scene in Streep's 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada" but that scene was dropped in editing.) In 2015, it's the mother-daughter team playing mother and daughter in "Ricki and the Flash" (PG-13, 1:41) – and it's kind of hard to decide which actress did a better job.

Streep plays the title character, Ricki Rendazzo, an aging rock musician. The film opens with Ricki playing a set of musical covers as the singer in a local bar's house band. She obviously loves what she's doing, but it's short of where she hoped she'd be, having to hold another job as a supermarket cashier to make ends meet (and then, just barely). Then, not long into the story, her other identity beckons. Pete Brummel (Kevin Klein) repeatedly calls her cell phone until she finally answers. He's not calling Ricki. He's calling his ex-wife Linda to tell her that their daughter, Julie (Gummer) has been dumped by her cheating husband and dad is worried about her. It's an understatement. Although she can barely afford the ticket, Ricki-slash-Linda hops on a plane from L.A. back home to Indianapolis to be there for her daughter. It's the most she's done for any of her children in over 25 years.

As you might imagine, in her kids' eyes, this grand gesture isn't nearly enough to make up for leaving the family to pursue her rock and roll fantasy in the late 80s – and having precious little contact with them since. Ricki's appearance sends the very depressed and highly-medicated Julie into a rage and a family dinner which includes her two sons (Sebastian Stan and Ben Platt) goes only a little bit better. During her short visit, Ricki makes considerable progress pulling Linda out of her funk, but when Pete's current wife (Audra McDonald) returns from a visit with her sick father, it's clear that it's time for Ricki to leave. It's back to California, back to the grocery store, back to the bar stage and back to her lead guitarist pseudo-boyfriend, Greg (Rick Springfield). As Ricki tortures herself over the sorry state of her relationship with her children, Greg comforts her and encourages her not to quit trying to make amends. As badly as she wants to make this better, an opportunity that arises to do just that still makes for a difficult decision.

Considering the great pedigree of "Ricki and the Flash", the movie should have been better than it was. Oh, don't get me wrong – the acting is top notch, but other aspects of the film were disappointing. Streep does her usual outstanding work (not to take her for granted, but this is Meryl Streep were talking about here) – and there are award-worthy performances from Streep's fellow Oscar veteran (and former co-star) Kevin Kline, definitely from Ms. Gummer, from McDonald and even from Springfield. I expected more, however, from Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs") and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno").

Except for one great line late in the movie, the dialog is unremarkable and often the story feels forced. In one scene, Ricki points out the double-standard for male and female rock musicians who are absentee parents, but fails to acknowledge that Ricki could have still done had more of a relationship with her children than she did. A few references are made to Ricki being a conservative (even though she's a musician in California and her family back in the mid-West seems pretty liberal), but never gives any context for that characterization or even makes it at all pertinent to the story. The script also fails to explain anything about the circumstances surrounding Ricki's departure from the family or much about how her career developed over the ensuing quarter century.

Throughout the film, questionable writing and directing choices overplay many characters' disdain for Ricki to the point that the ultimate resolution of the story feels far-fetched. Even some of the camera work and editing seem unnecessarily melodramatic. The theme of family reconciliation is worthy and heart-warming, but for a story of an aging rocker trying to reconnect with family left behind, 2015's "Danny Collins" is a much better story and with equally good acting. The acting is the main reason to see "Ricki". The rest is just a small flash in the pan. "B-"