ricki and the flash
Meryl Streep is fierce. Audra McDonald is fierce. Rick Springfield was kind of fierce. Ricki and the Flash is not fierce.
Altogether, Ricki and the Flash is not a happy movie. It follows a late-middle-aged woman as she tries to mend the family she broke many years ago. Streep (Into the Woods) plays Ricki, who went off to follow her dreams of being a rock star and left her husband and three children. Springfield (True Detective) plays her boyfriend, and McDonald (The Sound of Music Live!) , her ex-husband’s new wife.
The whole thing would be more bearable if Ricki was a washed-up rock star returning home, but she was never even successful.
As the plot unfolds, it becomes increasingly depressing. You see how Ricki’s actions affected those she loved and how she fails to acknowledge those effects.
Streep is very convincing as a woman about to lose her grip on the flimsy life of denial she has built for herself. At this point in her career, the Oscar-winner can take pretty much what she wants. Recently, she has been choosing heavily musical roles. She held her own in Mamma Mia! (2008) and Into the Woods (2014).
Here, her voice is perfect for this woman who isn’t particularly talented but not terrible either. Ricki is a woman who never got her own music off the ground, but seems to have a pretty loyal following as lead mic in a cover band.
Ricki and the Flash actually sing the entire soundtrack. Your mom will love this movie, because not only will she hear Streep belt out Tom Petty and attempt a little Lady Gaga, but also see a little Springfield/Streep hanky-panky (which gets weirder the longer you think about it).
Mom will laugh along as the movie pokes fun at hipsters when Streep’s son gets married in true alternative fashion, with vegan meals, microbrews and waiters with androgynous haircuts.
She will cry when Springfield delivers an emotional speech to Streep about parent/child bonds, and a smile when her children (including Streep’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer) surround Ricki onstage.
The enjoyment for younger people comes from Streep’s oddly endearing political-incorrectness. She embodies a little bit of everyone’s prejudiced grandpa, which is great because it makes her into someone familiar.
However, the themes writer Diablo Cody intended are lost on anyone without kids, or who didn’t realize Springfield is the artist behind the classic “Jessie’s Girl.”
To them, McDonald will be the most recognizable, from her role as Naomi Bennett in Private Practice. Unfortunately, her role in this film is more limited, though a bright spot is a confrontation between her character, Maureen, and Ricki.
Another delight is Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect 2) as Daniel, Ricki’s bartender/fanboy, who showers his “queen” in compliments and margaritas. Both McDonald and Platt have more than a little musical theater experience, but neither sing in this film, which this theater fan found disappointing.
In addition to that letdown, Ricki and the Flash did not live up to some of its other potential, with a plot that seemed too easily resolved and a lack of real chemistry between Streep and Springfield.
However, if you’re looking for a film to bring your mom to see before you return back to school, this is the one. It’s got classic rock, attractive and (mostly) talented actors, timely jokes and even some zingy one-liners.
It’s nothing special, but for an hour and 40 minutes, it’s enough to make you forget about your ever-growing list of things to do before you return to College Park.
