“They want me to do the Barbie movie, so maybe they want something a little offbeat”, says Cody.
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Cody, who won an Oscar for 2007’s JUNO, has become one of Hollywood’s most important voices, due to her willingness to dive head-first into topics that many other artists avoid. While there is no doubt that the movie does have a number of examples of Cody’s recognizable acerbic and insightful dialogue, there is not almost enough of it to raise the piece from entertainingly sentimental to profoundly moving and thought-provoking. It isn’t about her – in reality, it is based mostly on her 61-year-old mother-in-law, Terry Cieri, the frontwoman of a Jersey Shore basic rock band referred to as Silk and Metal.
Ricki, who left her family to chase her rock and roll dream, must leave her tiny apartment and return to her ex’s laughably handsome home (complete with pool and poodle) only to find Julie lashing out, rather justifiably, about Ricki’s absentee parenting.
Actually, I have to confess that just in glimpsing the ad campaign for Meryl Streep as a senior rocker in “Ricki and the Flash”, I got a bit of the excruciates.
“Ricki and the Flash” – which opens next week – isn’t Rick Springfield’s first time in the movie ring.
Shortly after establishing the sad parameters of Ricki’s life, which now teeters on financial bankruptcy, the film whisks her away to Indianapolis, where her grown daughter, Julie (played by Streep’s own talented child, Mamie Gummer) is reeling from a sudden divorce. Also, beyond the mesmerizing physical resemblance between the real-life mother and daughter pairing, Gummer and Streep both disappear into their respective roles. Then there’s Maureen (Audra McDonald), Pete’s current wife, who cedes no territory as the surrogate mom to Ricki’s kids. She starred as a doctor trying to advance her career and figure out her love life at the same time.
Hard to imagine, but long-time rocker, Rick Springfield, was not even one of those queued up or making calls to get an audition for “Ricki and the Flash“. (In a movie filled with fine small details, we learn that these political leanings may be the product of a traumatic event from her childhood.) When she discovers that one of her two sons is gay, she dismisses it as a phase; nearly as very bad, she volunteers at one point that she thinks Journey is a great band. Ricki grew up in that era, so she loved those artists. However, Streep has such command of this character that you are able to see the delicacy with which she recognizes, embraces, and overcomes her obvious shortcomings.
Cody’s screenplay dodges most of the soap operatics that often seep into stories like this and she incorporates some clever ideas, such as Ricki turning out to be a conservative Republican, despite her leather outfits and party-princess swagger.
So far, sources say, the disease is only in its early stages.
The most Academy Award nominations of any actor, ever. In fact, her character and performance are only ones that feel fully realized in the film. A film that adores its characters this much is sure to be adored in kind.
Ricki and the Flash could’ve easily been yet another broad, obvious dysfunctional-family comedy.
Most of Meryl’s songs in the film are by male rock stars, such as Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Clearly, the filmmakers count on you leaning in to Streep’s typically bravura performance while ignoring the emotionally nonsensical big picture, and perhaps that’s the best policy.
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“If I was this age playing cover tunes in a bar band still, I’d probably be miserable”, he admits.
