Review of Ricki and the Flash (2015) by Mmh35 — 02 Dec 2016

Meryl Streep is hands down one of the best actresses of all time. Unfortunately, the writing let's her and the rest of the cast down. I love that Rick Springfield is in the movie. I do feel however that there were too many musical numbers and not enough attention paid to Ricki's two sons.

Yes, Ricki comes home to see her daughter who is suffering, but she ends up going to her son Josh's wedding and yet we know nothing about the dynamic of that relationship at all. Then there's her son Adam, who steals the dinner in a restaurant scene.

I don't know who the actor is who plays Adam, but he's great in the two big scenes he has in the movie. Kevin Kline has always been a great underrated actor; and Audra McDonald is lovely in the film. I like Mamie Gummer, but I felt her first scene in the movie was completely over the top.

She's definitely overacting there, but she calms down as the movie goes on, easing into her role. If they were going to do a wedding in the movie then couldn't they have cast an actress who by the end of the movie you don't easily forget right away? The intended bride, Emily, is so awkward you wonder why Josh is engaged to her.

And speaking of Josh, Sebastian Stan is totally underutilized. Jonathan Demme is an accomplished director who should've known better. Did he not see Stan's turns on NBC's shortly lived show Kings and USA's Political Animals? Just watching YouTube clips of these two shows you can see how talented Stan is.

Demme used Stan in a scene in Rachel Getting Married, so he should have done more with him, working with him for a second time. They really should have fleshed the characters of Josh and Adam out, giving each actor a great moment with Streep; and they also should have given Streep a nice scene with Emily, played by an actress who Meryl wouldn't completely overtake.

It's a decent movie; but it should have been so much better, with the cast they had assembled.