Ricki and the Flash (2015)

 ●  English ● 1 hr 41 mins

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It's been a roller-coaster ride for Ricki Rendazzo, a one-time wife and mother of three who left her family behind to follow her dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom in California. Now, the singer and guitarist must face the music when she returns home to Indiana to reconnect with ex-husband Pete, troubled daughter Julie, engaged son Josh and younger son Adam. Filled with regret, Ricki hopes to find redemption for all of the bad choices that she made in the past.
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Meryl Streep

Crew: Jonathan Demme (Director), Declan Quinn (Director of Photography)

Rating: NC16 (Singapore)

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Musical

Release Dates: 28 Aug 2015 (India)

Tagline: Get Ready for Ricki

English Name: Ricki and the Flash

Movie Rating
Based on 1 rating
1 user 29 critic
Music Rating
Based on 1 rating
1 user 29 critic
Did you know? Meryl Streep plays a professional singer here. Although Streep is a trained singer, the woman who plays Maureen, Pete's second wife, Audra McDonald, is arguably the most acclaimed Broadway musical performer of her generation. She has won six competitive Tony Awards (more than any other performer), the first four before she was 35. McDonald has a non-singing role in Ricki and the Flash. Read More
Watch it for Streep and the music
on

They don't make them like her anymore..I am talking about Meryl Streep and her much acclaimed and applauded acting skills."Ricki and the Flash" is a movie experience worth viewing..thanks to Streep's nuanced performance and intense screen presence.She literally chews up the scenery whether she is strumming the electric guitar as the rockstar Rikki or even silently shedding a tear as the estranged wife and mother of three coming to terms with the harsh realities of separation and even warmly accepting the foster mother of her 3 children.
Critics may argue that this is not a patch on her fabulous body of work but for me as I sat dazed in the cinema hall..She was pure magic..never mind the wrinkles and the awful hairstyle and rock chick suits.Three other sprightly noticeable acts come from Ricki's colleague and boyfriend(Rick Springfield), her hubby(Kevin Kline) and the stepmom(Audra McDonald).Mamie Gummer, who plays Ricki's daughter heading for a divorce and depression aces her part like her talented Mom(she is Meryl Streep's daughter off screen too).Even the Flash band members and the Pub owner where Ricki's music plays are fabulously cast.
There was one very impressively staged scene in the movie which made me weep where Ricki and her co musician cum boyfriend exchange words over their true feelings for each other.Its a fabulous dialogue exchange laced with contemporary feelings of betrayal, love, lust and depreciation of self worth all so beautifully done thanks to the wonderful acting by Streep and Springfield.For lovers of rock n roll and also dramas blazing with strong performances and rocking dialogues, this one is a must watch.So don't wait.Just ROCK AND ROLL.

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as Pete
as Julie
as Ricki Rendazzo/Linda
as Total Foods Customer
as Wedding Dancer #13
as Provocative Dancer #2
as Wedding Dancer #7
as Mother of the Bride
as Maureen
as Wedding Dancer #3
as Desmond
as Daniel
as Billy
as Elvis Guy
as Single Dad
as Salt Well Drinker
as Hair Stylist
as Oma
as Community Security Guard
as TSA Employee #1
as Wedding Dancer #12
as Wedding Dancer #5
as Julie's Escort
as Max's Friend #6
as Salt Well Regular
as Salt Well Dancer
as Selfie Girl
as Cocktail Waitress
as Goodwill Sales Lady
as Bridesmaid #3
as Max
as Impatient Traveler
as Emily
as Bridesmaid #1
as Wedding Dancer #15
as Pete's Cousin Jeff
as Provocative Dancer #1
as Bartender
as Whitey
as Joe
as Max's Friend #3
as Microphone Handler
as Waiter
as Wedding Officiant
as Inquiring Woman
as Sharon
as Max's Friend #2
as Wedding Dancer #6
as Bridesmaid #2
as Wedding Dancer #2
as Nail Clerk
as Nicole
as Dinner Guest
as Restaurant Hostess
as TSA Employee #2
Supporting Actress
as Groomsman #2
as Wedding Dancer #10
as Wedding Dancer #14
as Adam
as Wedding Dancer #8
as Walt
as Wedding Dancer #1
as Buster
as Journey
as Max's Friend #1
as Max's Friend #5
as Josh
as Wedding Dancer #4
as Waiting Woman
as Max's Friend #4
as Father of the Bride
as Groomsman #1
as Harpist
as Snobby Guest
as Wedding Dancer #9
as Wedding Dancer #11

Direction

Director
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director

Distribution

Writers

Screenplay Writer
Story Writer
Dialogue Writer

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography
Steadicam Operator
Camera Operator
Electrician

Sound

Foley Editor
Sound Mixer
Sound Effects Editor
Boom Operator

Casting

Casting Associate

Costume and Wardrobe

Costume Designer
Costume Supervisor

Editorial

Editor
First Assistant Editor

Makeup and Hair

Special Effects

Special Effects Coordinator

Visual Effects

Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Studio

Transportation

Transportation Coordinator
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Color
Sound Mix:
Datasat Digital Sound, Dolby Digital, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound
Camera:
ARRI ALEXA XT
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Archival Source:
QubeVault
Taglines:
Get Ready for Ricki
Goofs:
Factual Mistake
When the cab drops Ricki off in Indianapolis it says "Indi" on the side of the cab. The correct shorthand is Indy.
Trivia:
Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer are mother and daughter in real life.

Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline previously starred in Sophie's Choice (1982) in which Streep won her second Oscar while pregnant with daughter Mamie Gummer who plays Streep and Kline's daughter in this film.

The story is loosely based on Diablo Cody's real life mother-in-law who has been singing rock and roll for many years.

Meryl Streep plays a professional singer here. Although Streep is a trained singer, the woman who plays Maureen, Pete's second wife, Audra McDonald, is arguably the most acclaimed Broadway musical performer of her generation. She has won six competitive Tony Awards (more than any other performer), the first four before she was 35. McDonald has a non-singing role in Ricki and the Flash.

This marks as the third reunion between Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline after their collaboration in Sophie's Choice (1982) and A Prairie Home Companion (2006).

Rick Springfield, who plays Ricki's boyfriend and bandmate Greg, has had a long career as both a rock performer (including the perennial radio hit "Jessie's Girl," which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1981) and as an actor (he has had regular roles on such TV shows as "General Hospital" and "True Detective").

This marks the third time Mamie Gummer and real life mother Meryl Streep have worked together on film. First in the movie Heartburn (1986) then in Evening (2007)!

First ever feature film performance by PigPen Theatre Company

Cameo (Diablo Cody): Appears as a patron dancing on the floor when Ricki and the Flash are playing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

The guitar that Greg pawns is really owned by Rick Springfield. This is the same guitar he wrote Jessie's Girl on.

In the film, the first song that Ricki and her band are shown playing is their cover of "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In Jonathan Demme's 1991 film "The Silence of the Lambs", Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith) is shown singing along to the Heartbreakers' recording of that song in her car, just before being kidnapped by Jame Gumb (Ted Levine).

The scene with Linda (Ricki), and Greg arrive in "Indianapolis" for Josh's wedding and they are at a Best Western is actually a Best Western in Nyack, NY.

There are several true-to-life storylines in this script. Ricki's daughter is played by Meryl Streep's real life daughter Mamie Gummer. In Diablo Cody's script, Julie (played by Mamie) and her husband Max divorce rather quickly. In reality, Mamie and her ex-husband Ben Walker also divorced quickly when he was 30 and she was just 29. The couple had been married for a year and a half.

The apartment complex where Linda (Meryl Streep) was the same apartment complex used in the first Karate Kid movie.