Meryl Streep Shines in "Ricki and the Flash"

There's not much to say about Meryl Streep that hasn't been said already; as the actress with the most Academy Award nominations in history, and one of six actors ever to win three or more Oscars, it's clear she's one of the greats. Her ability to disappear into nearly any role is an ability not held by many, and she possesses the rare mastery with accents.

It's funny that Streep's most critically embraced roles are the ones you can see her sweating the most in. Her most recent Oscar win came from playing Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady", which other than Streep's technically perfect performance was a complete misfire. Sure, Streep looked and sounded like Thatcher, but there was no soul; it was evident she was putting all of her effort into pulling off the mannerisms and Thatcher-ness.

So what a joy it is that in "Ricki and the Flash", Streep looks to be having more fun onscreen than she's had since playing Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" back in 2006. There's an effortlessness to this performance that has eluded her recent work; even her turn in last year's "Into the Woods" seemed too much. It seemed as if she was trying to outdo Bernadette Peter's legendary portrayal of The Witch, but here, Streep is right at home in this world crafted by Diablo Cody ("Juno", "Jennifer's Body") and Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs", "Rachel Getting Married").
After Ricki (Streep) gets news that her daughter Julie (Streep's real life daughter Mamie Gummer) is having a nervous breakdown following her divorce, she packs up her belongings (notably her guitar) and spends the last of her money on a plane ticket to help. But revisiting the life she left behind for an attempt at a music career proves to be harder than she originally imagined. There's the scorned ex husband (Kevin Kline, Streep's on screen husband from "Sophie's Choice"), and her two sons Josh (Sebastian Stan) and Max (Gabriel Ebert) who feel the sting of her abandonment. It's up to Ricki to try and heal her hurting daughter through the only way she knows how, while trying to ease her way back into her family's lives after being gone for so long.

But that's where the problem lies with "Ricki and the Flash"; outside of Meryl's colorful turn, there's not much going on, or rather, too much. The film wants to be a family drama, a character study, and a quasi-musical all at once. The frustrating part is that the groundwork is there for "Ricki" to be all of those things, but Cody's screenplay plays too fast and loose with all of those elements. Anyone knows that Demme can fashion a hell of a family drama (seriously, go watch "Rachel Getting Married" NOW) and is an extremely versatile director. If only the screenplay had been tightened a bit more.

The film has a nice pace in the beginning with Streep and Gummer having a considerable amount of chemistry, but the film dumps them halfway and doesn't make any attempt to explore the complicated mother-daughter relationship any further, nor any relationship shared with Streep's character throughout the duration. Even her romantic interest with guitarist Greg (Rick Springfield) is quickly taken care of a little too neatly, given the sparse amount of time the film spends with them.

But for all of its faults, "Ricki and the Flash" manages to be charming for what it is, a flawed star vehicle for Streep, and it really does owe its success to its star; it's hard to imagine another actress being able to do the amount of heavy lifting Streep does here without breaking a sweat.

Grade: B-

Oscar Chances: Though originally thought to be a Best Actress ploy for Streep, it seems like this will be strictly regulated to the Golden Globes Comedy or Musical category. It doesn't hurt, however, that Streep could be in the hunt for her supporting work in "Suffragette", depending on how much screen time she actually has in it. There's also a small chance the fantastic original song, "Cold One" could get recognition in the song category. But seeing as the film has been underperforming with critics and the box office, that might be a long shot.