Ricki and the Flash (2015)

Sebastian Stan looks beautiful as hell in this one and I love it

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.

"Wherever I am, I am what's missing." - Mark StrandDirected by Jonathan Demme, "Ricki and the Flash" stars Meryl Streep as Ricki, a rambunctious woman who leaves her wealthy husband (Kevin Kline) and embarks upon a quest to become a rock star. These dreams don't pan out, however, and Ricki instead finds herself playing at bars and working as a cashier.Demme directed "Rachel Getting Married" in 2008, a film rife with suicides, weddings and cosy unions between different ethnic groups. "Ricki and the Flash" has similar preoccupations; we watch as Ricki reconnects with her estranged sons, helps her daughter escape suicidal depression, and learns to accept, forgive and beg forgiveness from her husband and his new wife, an African American woman who teaches Ricki to let go of various racial prejudices and preconceptions.At the heart of "Ricki", though, is the tension between being a mother - and so having responsibilities to others - and being an independent artist who lives for one's art. What Ricki learns is that the two positions are not necessarily contradictory. She demonstrates this at the end of Demme's film; Ricki may be a giant train-wreck, but her music brings everyone together. Echoing Demme's many music documentaries/concert shows, "Ricki" thus portrays art as something communal and inclusive. Climaxing with Bruce Springsteen's "My Love Will Not Let You Down", it merges the rebellious ethos of rock-and-roll with more traditional family values."Ricki and the Flash" has all the positives and negatives associated with Jonathan Demme. It's well acted (at this point, Streep is practically a national institution), entertaining, sweet and boasts a catchy soundtrack. Like most of Demme's films, however, its attempts to sketch America's underbelly, with its working class anxieties and racial tensions, are mostly overly cute and overly idealistic. Mamie Gummer co-stars.7.9/10 - Worth one viewing.

I am in utter disbelieve that this move got released the way it is – didn't they watch it before they released it?? I imagine they started out with a good screenplay in order to attract that caliber of actors, but it is really shockingly poorly produced and directed and quite seriously insults my intelligence as a viewer. I feel like the scenes are written for a 5th grader smoking pot and, unfortunately, it just gets worse and worse as the movie goes on until it finishes with an ending that was so bad I couldn't even look! I'm just so embarrassed for the truly accomplished and brilliant actors in this film. What a waste of talent.