Ricki and the Flash (2015)

Too much of everything

The acting in this movie is really good.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I have the utmost respect for Meryl Streep as an actress. She is amazing and has deserved all the acclaim for her roles in a wide variety of exceptional movies. That being said, a few years ago she made "Mama Mia"...which proved that despite her prodigious talents, Ms. Streep cannot do everything...especially when it came to singing. Perhaps this is why she later made "Ricki and the Flash"...to prove she really COULD sing. And, while she was passable, it just convinced me that once again Meryl should NOT be singing in her films. Inexplicably...Streep just finished another musical..."Mama Mia! Here We Go Again". Please, please stop already!!The story begins with a long song delivered by Meryl in a honkeytonk....and there was much more of this to come. If they'd just stopped with that one song, it might have been okay. They didn't. You learn that Meryl left her family to pursue her musical career. Her husband (Kevin Kline) has since remarried and they've both lived totally separate lives since. However, their daughter (played by Streep's real life daughter) is having emotional problems and he has invited her to come back to see their daughter, and, perhaps, to help. What comes after that is pretty cliched, though the film DOES have some excellent moments and might even elicit a few tears. My problem is the shameless way the film had Ricki (Streep) come and perform at her son's wedding and, apparently, that just made everything great and the film ends. Thank heaven for the magical power of Meryl's singing....not.The bottom line is that this movie would have been excellent if there never had been any singing at all...and the singing was a distraction. Additionally, the band actually had, as lead guitarist, Rick Springfield...a guy who really CAN sing and make music....why not let him sing if you insist on having singing?! Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this one...mostly because Meryl is a mega-talent....just not when it comes to singing.

With Streep, Kline and Demme on board one would expect very little going wrong. Add a script by Diablo Cody and make sure it does. Streep is Ricki (Linda, actually) an aging rocker who left her hubby Pete and three kids in unexplained circumstances. Ricki pursued her musical dream in LA without much success and is currently holding a day job as checkout cashier and a night one as singer of the titular band.The script wants us to believe she has no money, but I thought she should be a bit less strapped for cash, with two jobs and probably some royalties.... anyway, let's believe Ricki is poor, but still enjoying a decent life with loving band member Greg.One day Pete calls to inform her their daughter Julie is "depressed" because her husband dumped her, so Ricki flies to Indianapolis, where Pete lives with his second wife in rich bourgeois environment, way above Ricki's humble LA lodgings.Ricki's kids are resentful, but it should be noted that kids always blame parents, regardless of their failings. However, Ricki manages to help Julie and patches up her relation with the other two.On the good side, Streep is OK as Ricki, with her flaws and unpleasant sides, but also her frustration. As a mother she could not have "two" dreams and was forced to chose either the family or the music. Streep also sings decently and is quite believable in her standard rocker "uniform"of black leather and unflattering hairdo. Kline is also good in an understated performance. The scenes in LA are more interesting than the ones in Indianapolis.On the less good side, the title is as bland and uninspired as most of the story. Streep's daughter plays Julie and made me wonder why children of famous actors do not try different jobs to spare themselves some embarrassment. For one Michael Douglas, there are the kids of Glenn Close, Kevin Costner, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks etc... who all tried and failed at acting. Streep's daughter is OK, but will never be able to compare to her mother, so hers seems an exercise in futility.Although plenty of music is played in the film, the score fell flat for me, with not a single goose bumps musical moment. One of Ricki's kids is gay for no other reason than adding controversy to an already sticky situation (or to get some PC on board). Leaving the - already mediocre - music angle aside, this is a major blame feast with an illogical ending.

The Final Film by the Late/Great Jonathan Demme, 'Ricki and the Flash' is a fairly entertaining film, that works in parts. Though very predictable, this comedy-drama still has its heart at the right place.'Ricki and the Flash' Synopsis: A musician who gave up everything for her dream of rock- and-roll stardom returns home, looking to make things right with her family.'Ricki and the Flash' is a tale on family & bond, and how ambition sometimes can affect relationships deeper than imagined. Its interesting to see Ricki mingle with her estranged family & later realize the importance of being united. Diablo Cody's Screenplay is decent, but its very predictable. There are no surprises here & it firmly sticks to the genre clichés. I wish there was some newness in its Writing. Demme's Direction is faultless, as always. His loss is truly among the most tragic moments of this year, as he was truly a Master at his craft. Cinematography & Editing are fair.Performance-Wise: Meryl Streep as Linda / Ricki, slips into her character effortlessly & comes up with a winning performance. The Thespian doesn't miss a single beat. Kevin Kline, another Acting Giant in his own right, is simply superb as Ricki's former husband. Mamie Gummer (Meryl's real-life & reel-life daughter here as well), is natural to the core as the suffering soul. And Rick Springfield shines as Ricki's supportive boyfriend. Others lend perfect support. On the whole, 'Ricki and the Flash' offers nothing new, but its warm film nonetheless.

This is a competent film that nevertheless didn't seem to quite get a handle on what it wants to be: family melodrama or character study. I wish it had committed to the latter, because Ricki the California rocker is fascinating stuff. A disappointed but never say die guitarist and singer who clerks retail during the day to help pay her bills,she sacrificed her family for this. We find that she has big regrets but not enough to wish to undo the life she lives as an all but anonymous rocker playing cover songs with her band in a small bar. That film would have been on the level of The Wrestler, but this one surely is not.The good stuff: Meryl's acting of course, the subtleties she brings to her character are amazing. Meryl's daughter who plays her character's daughter does a very fine job also. I very much like Rick Springfield who plays Ricki's boyfriend and fellow guitarist in her band. And the music is great. I could listen to and watch this put together band all night long.But the less than good stuff: Kevin Kline is miscast. He doesn't gel as the ex husband or as the left behind father who raised the kids. The whole family dynamic seems to fall flat. Angst in the Midwest living in a large but sterile mcmansion. As I've already implied, this is the schizophrenic split in the film I did not like. Too stereotypical and been done to death. And, as much as I liked Ricki & The Flash performing, they devote a surprising long piece of the film showing it. The excess really added nothing to the plot or character. It was almost like they edited in the DVD extras to fill in the time.Overall, fun to watch for the music but that and the acting doesn't rise it to the level of more than a grade C.