Film review: Ricki and the Flash - Beyond just rock ‘n’ roll

Meryl Streep rocks a mother-daughter drama with her outstanding performance

Jonathan Demme’s Ricki and the Flash sounds like a superhero film, when in fact it only stars one. Meryl Streep, whose greatest superpower is perhaps being the only living Hollywood actress who can manage to save films by her mere presence, gives yet another compelling performance here as aging rock musician Ricki Rendazzo in a flawed, but very watchable film.

The film is made special through the musical interludes of Rendazzo performing classic rock songs throughout the film. Demme has made sure to record all the songs live on set and therefore the film has a very interactive feel to it. The level of sound recording is exceptional and it actually feels like Rendazzo is giving live concerts, along with her band-mate and boyfriend, Greg (Rick Springfield). It’s noteworthy, because there are other films with live music where all the sounds are added afterwards. In fact, Ricki and the Flash starts with a performance in which one is instantly sucked into the world of bar bands.

The film is scripted by Diablo Cody and is narratively linked to an earlier work of hers, Young Adult. There, too, a woman returned to her home town because of a traumatic experience. And in Ricki and the Flash, Rendazzo returns to her estranged family, who she had left in order to realise her dream of becoming a rock star, because her daughter Julie is going through a hard time. She meets her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline in a fun supporting role) who has since re-married, and her three children, who aren’t particularly fond of the mother who gave them up. It’s a ripe set-up, made more interesting by great casting: Rendazzo’s daughter is played by Streep’s real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer.



To say that Ricki and the Flash is about a dysfunctional family is perhaps not entirely accurate. It really isn’t about the family on the whole, but rather about the mother and daughter relationship. Rendazzo and Julie quickly bond, even though Rendazzo has been absent for such a long time. “Sometimes a girl just needs her mother,” she tells Pete and this dynamic becomes a bit complicated when Pete’s new wife, who has practically raised Rendazzo’s kids, returns from a trip. But in Diablo Cody’s world, there are no villains and the screenplay is conveniently resolved at each hint of a problem. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as evident in a charming scene early on where both Rendazzo and Pete confront Julie’s ex in a restaurant. And that’s that. Julie seems cured afterwards.

Even the ending is pure convenience and perhaps a bit predictable. But Demme does everything in such an honest way, he cares so genuinely for his characters that nothing ever comes across as phoney or pretentious. Picture this: Rendazzo is a die-hard patriot, who supports the troops and voted for George W Bush twice. She doesn’t care for Obama. One of her sons is gay and Pete’s new wife is African-American, both points hinting at some tension, but they are never fully explored. Taking all of this into account, another actress might have made Rendazzo into a caricature, but because it’s Meryl Streep, the character is layered, complicated and works well. And surprisingly, the film does too.



Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 13^th, 2015.