Ricki and the Flash Opens August 7th! @RickiMovie #RickiandtheFlash @SonyPictures

“Meryl Streep takes on a whole new gig – a hard-rocking singer/guitarist – for Oscar®-winning director Jonathan Demme and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody in Ricki and the Flash. In an original and electrifying film loaded with live musical performances, Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family. Streep stars opposite her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer; Rick Springfield, portraying a Flash member in love with Ricki; Kevin Kline as Ricki’s ex-husband; and Audra McDonald as Kline’s new wife.”

My review is completed biased as I am a huge Meryl Streep fan. And the preview of this movie was in the Sony Building in NYC in a very small executive level looking small theater with a big beautiful screen right in front of me where I was able to drink in the wonderful acting that I know is what Meryl brings to the big screen. I also love her singing having fallen in love with her voice during the several times I saw her last movie!

Ricki Randazzo (Meryl Streep) left her family, when her children were young, to pursue a music career in California. We are introduced to her years later when she is part of a band that plays gigs in local bars, while working during the day at a supermarket.

She gets a call to come home as her daughter is getting divorced, which has caused the daughter to fall into a deep depression, which worries the dad (Kevin Kline) enough to reach out to his ex-wife as his current wife is taking care of her own sick father out of town.

Ricki flies to her Indiana to help her daughter. The daughter who’s wedding she did not attend. This mom is not just estranged from her family, she is despised. She knows this and is very nervous.

She is slowly able to help her daughter and there are some excellent scenes between her and her three children. I saw the pain in her face when separately, two of her children, lashed out at her. And where she might have been indignant and defensive in the past, I could see clearly in Meryl’s face that she knew the kids were right, she could only hope for some form of forgiveness down the road. You have to see the movie to see if that forgiveness comes, needless to say there were some tears shed in the movie and in the audience.

Meryl Streep’s daughter in real life, Mamie Gummer plays her daughter in the movie. I thought they did a great job. Please refer back to my interviews for more on Meryl, Mamie, and Rick! Rick Springfield’s guitar up above is the one I referenced in the interviews, it is the one he bought when he was 21 years old and the one with which he came up with his hit song, “Jessie’s Girl.”

This is a film for Meryl Streep fans. This is more of an art house type of movie where you can really sit back and sink your teeth into some great music, and some terrific acting with a lot of angst. And for all the fans of Rick Springfield, he plays a great foil to Ms. Streep’s strong willed character i their scenes together. They actually sang so well together that I asked when they would do a song for Rick’s next album! Lastly, we all know Mamie Gummer is Meryl’s real life daughter, so it was great to see them act opposite one another, and also great to learn that the Director demanded they stay separate from each other on the set so as to not break character!

For more information visit Ricki and the Flash!

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Disclsure: I attended a preview and interviews to facilitate this article. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own.

And my picture with Mr. Rick Springfield, the man who everyone girl I know says wars their crush growing up!