Review of Ricki and the Flash (2015) by Leon B — 17 Jan 2016

Review:

It's not very often that I find a Meryl Streep boring, so it feels a bit weird not being thoroughly entertained by one of her films. It's not her A class performance that let's the movie down, it's basically the storyline which hit a brick wall right from the beginning. I thought that it was going to turn into an emotional drama but it's very one toned and there isn't much depth to the characters. Anyway, Ricki (Meryl Streep) abandons her family at a young age, to pursue her career to become a rock star with her band, the Flash. Whilst working as a cashier in a shopping market, she gets a call from her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline), to return to Indianapolis to help there estranged daughter, Julie (Mamie Gummer) through a difficult time. She manages to scrap together her fare and when she arrives at her husbands lavish house, Ricki finds out that Julie has attempted suicide because she caught her husband cheating on her and he's filing for a divorce. After tackling her remorse for her mum, for leaving her at a young age, Ricki finally gets Julie out of her bedroom and she takes her on a pampering trip to try and perk up her mood. They then go out for a family meal, with her son and his fiance present but her gay son still feels remorse towards her and he gives her a hard time. When they return home, Pete and Julie have a joyful night with Ricki and they end up reminiscing about the old days but the following morning, Pete's second wife Maureen (Audra McDonald) returns home, after looking after her sick parent, and she confronts Ricki with some hard truths. Ricki then returns to her band in California, ashamed about her relationship with her children, so her boyfriend Greg (Rick Springfield) also tells her some home truths, about how she still has a chance to build bridges with them. She then gets a letter from Maureen, who sends her an invitation to her sons wedding as an olive branch but she hasn't got the money to return to Indianapolis. Greg then sells his price possession, which is a unique guitar, to pay for the tickets for them to go to the wedding so she buys herself a nice dress to prove to her children that she is making an effort. When she arrives at the wedding, she is still made to feel like an outsider and she is seated away from the family because she had returned the invitation so late. With no money to her name, she gives her son the only gift that she can afford, which is a special song for the bride and groom and her son decides to dance with his bride which perks up the other guests, who also join them on the dance floor. It's a sweet storyline but it seemed a bit shallow. You get a lot of references of the characters past, which explains the remorse from the kids but it seems like we missed the most entertaining part of the storyline. The chemistry between Kline and Streep is great and I liked the loving relationship between Streep and Greg but it still felt like it was missing something. The music wasn't that great but I have to give credit to Streep for performing the songs live. In all, it's a watchable movie but it could have been much better if there were other elements to the storyline. Average!

Round-Up:

Meryl Streep always gives a top performance in all of her movies and she definitely gave this movie her all. At 66 years old, she still can past as a rock star and her presence on screen is top class. She is due to star alongside Hugh Grant in the upcoming Florence Foster Jenkins, which has "Hit" written all over it and with another 3 projects on the go, there's no sign of her slowing down anytime soon. This movie was directed by Jonathan Demme, 71, who brought you Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, the Truth About Charlie and Rachel Getting Married. He definitely got the most out of Streep, who actually isn't a bad singer but I wasn't that impressed with the storyline.

Budget: $18million.

Worldwide Gross: $40million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/music.comedies starring Meryl Streep, Rick Springfield, Kevin Kline, Bill Irwin  Ben Platt and Sebastian Stan. 4/10.