RICKI AND THE FLASH Review

Meryl Streep's latest is something of an oddity. It is difficult to see the sixty-six year-old, Academy Award-winning actress as a lover of 60's and 70's rock and roll who never gave up her dream of joining that world. It isn't that Streep can't pull it off (please, what can't she do?), it's just a strange sight to behold and watch unfold. Decked out in gaudy jewelry from her ears to every finger and even more excessively around her neck, she is a nightmare for airport security. She swoops her thinning air to one side with the rest braided so as to elicit a steaming punk persona. She wears lots of black and a lot of leather and hates to go anywhere without her guitar. While the typically regal persona we see from Streep certainly doesn't correspond with what we see in Ricki there is something to be said for this unorganized, irresponsible and blatantly selfish person that chose one dream over another. Written by Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult) and directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) Ricki and the Flash is more a movie about the state of the American family than it is one about a failed singer. The trailers would have you believe this is something of a slight piece of melodrama that would be just as (if not more) suitable for the Lifetime network than your local multiplex, but it's clear from the moment things get a little more intense concerning Ricki's daughter (Streep's real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer) that this isn't simply a familial drama with fun interludes of Streep singing classic rock. No, Ricki and the Flash is indeed a more subtle and intricate commentary on topics largely relatable to the casual audience member. Sure, you may could see the conventions that the film works within from a mile away, but the seasoned cast sells it and the inspired moments of writing in certain scenes combined with Demme's assured direction make for an enjoyable and rather affecting experience.

First Trailer for RICKI AND THE FLASH Starring Meryl Streep

I always enjoy when Meryl Streep has a late August offering that somehow doesn't fit into the overall scheme that she is actively trying to be nominated for an Oscar every year. After Mama Mia, Julie & Julia and Hope Springs (of which the latter two I really enjoyed) I was hoping we might get another one soon as it's been three years since her last excursion into somewhat lighter territory. While she enjoyed a fair amount of success both critically and commercially with Into the Woods last award season it seems she is going in a completely different direction this year as far as movies concerned with music go. In her latest, titled Ricki and the Flash, Streep plays a musician who gave up everything for her dream of rock-and-roll stardom only to return home years later, looking to make things right with her family. The interesting aspect of this film is the combination of talent it has driving it. Not only does it have Streep as the star, but it has Diablio Cody (Juno, Young Adult) penning the screenplay and Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) behind the camera. Demme hasn't really directed an out and out commercial feature like this since (maybe) 2008's Rachel Getting Married and so, even if this first trailer looks a little hokey and manipulative, I am interested in seeing what these three talents pull together. The other interesting aspect for me was that Streep's character and her band (the Flash) aren't singing original songs written for the film, but rather past hits by Bruce Springstein, Tom Petty and Lady Gaga among those also featured in the trailer. Will this be an alternate universe where those songs belong to Ricki or did she get famous by simply being a cover band? I guess we'll find out August 7th when Ricki and the Flash opens. The film also stars Kevin Kline, Rick Springfield and Streep's real-life daughter Mamie Gummer.