Ricki and the Flash (2015)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 101 minutes
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Audra McDonald, Sebastian Stan, Ben Platt, Rick Springfield
KRS Releasing Ltd
Meryl Streep is Linda Brummel, also known as Ricki Rendazzo, the frontwoman of Ricki and the Flash, a rock and roll cover band that plays regularly at a Californian bar.
Although the band has a fair share of followers, Ricki’s life is a veritable mess. She is involved with the band’s guitarist, Greg (Rick Springfield), but has a problem committing herself fully to this relationship. She is bankrupt and works as a grocery store clerk.
Streep continues in her long line of magnificent performances, showing why she has dominated the scene for decades
Her life gets messier when her ex-husband, Pete (Kevin Kline), decides to give her a call to discuss their daughter, who is going through a difficult time.
So she returns to Indianapolis where she becomes aware of her problematic relationship with her children. Adam (Nick Westrate), who is gay, and Julie (Mamie Gummer) both give her the cold treatment. And although Joshua (Sebastian Stan) and his fiancée Emily (Hailey Gates) may be a bit more accepting, it doesn’t seem they will be inviting her to their wedding.
Maureen (Audra McDonald), Pete’s mother and usually the children’s go-to person, is not in town as her father is not well. This gives Ricki the chance to be the mother she never was.
Ricki and the Flash is popcorn entertainment that is given an added dimension by Streep and Gummer who deliver honest and provoking performances.
Streep continues in her long line of magnificent performances, showing why she has dominated the scene for decades. She has been a veritable role model for aspiring actresses. Here she is given the chance to play not the usual stately or portly Streep but an out-of-luck character with barely a glimmer of hope in life, a woman who could have been a rock star or a great mother.
Streep seems to be having fun in this role and it’s so infectious that we can be easily carried along with her… and she’s not half bad when it comes to singing as she belts out those rock tunes with aplomb.
It should also be noted that Streep and Gummer give a really synchronised performance which may have been quite easy for them to achieve considering they are in actual fact mother and daughter.
The film also marks a reunion on screen for Kline and Streep after the classic Sophie’s Choice (1982).
Ricki and the Flash is another showcase for Streep’s fans. Here she shows off a funnier side and, more than that, she brings a characterisation that is without frills and looks so natural.