Ricki and the Flash 2015

When i Saw ths film advertised i upon little research thought it to be only about an aging Stevie Nicks styled Rock Goddess whos career was on the slide coming back to her old home to help her wayward daughter through a mental collapse, thinking this an extremely unlikely scenario i just held onto the fact that Meryl Streep could turn any sows ear into a silk purse, upon revelation that the Character was in fact from a second rate cover band that had an album released way back when the concept began to have a little sense of gravitas at least, Ricki Rendazzo and as Linda (Meryl Streep) is the lead singer in her eponymous band 'Ricki and The Flash'.She and her group nightly regale customers with versions of songs (beautiful performed by Meryl must say) songs old and new (watch the version of Gaga's bad Romance it will have you Gagging with delight) she lives that existence that most parents hope their teenage children will soon grow out of and not continue into their third trimester of life,but Ricki at least seems to be happy in this gypsy life with on/off FWB bassets Greg (Australian actor Rick Springfield), the casting choice of which im not entirely convinced on ,Kris Krisofferson would have been a much better option,

Out of the Blue she is contacted by her Husband Pete (Kevin Kline, wasted in this role)who has some good moments but Somehow i wished he could have brought his crazy to the table (eg Wanda,).Pete contacts Ricki out of Desperation as their Daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer Meryls own daughter in real life ) is experiencing a total mental breakdown after unexpectedly her left her only after a short lived marriage,Mamie Gummer brings her acting chops to the table but as Katherine Hepburn once said about her mother Meryl as an actress 'you can see all the gears turning' meaning the sense of desperation and fire could have been a little but more restrained.
These events lead to some interesting scenes in the movie earlier on, particularly the group dinner with her children she hasn't meet in over 20 years particularly her Gay son Adam (Nick Westrate , Mildred Pierce tv series) ,who is every inch of the word an Addison Dewitt short of an 'All About Eve'.
All the good Character development must be said to exist up until sadly the middle of the film where things go array slightly lets just say.
The bottom of the film falls out halfway through the picture in between the return from her ex husbands house and the prolonged musical scenes which seem to be purely filler and only enjoyable due to Meryls performance. of Ricki playing with her group. There seems to be a great disappointment that Rickis Daughter Julies absence in the bridge of the film does a lot of damage to her and Rickis characters eventual return , one could argue that Ricki absence up until this point as a parent would not especially make a difference to the character development , But when she does return for a wedding (strangely coming down the isle long after the bride ) Rickis prompting of her to continue seems just a little weak , this is greatly underlined as this is well into the better half towards the end of the film .
But the scenes that following and the conclusion are satisfying if not a little expected , but this is the ending you are really secretly rooting for .
On the whole see the film for Meryl and Mamie, they work very well together and I can only hope for great things in her future , worth noting also is the confrontation scene between Ricki and Petes current wife Maureen (Broadway Star Audra McDonald) who really lets Ricki have it and good for her ,anyone who can steal a scene from Meryl deserves all the credit they can get .
Also Cameos are Great to say the Least, from Rupauls Drag Race Alumni ,Trans community Giant, and Supermodel Carmen Carrera ,Americas most sort after session musician Rick Rosas and drummer Joe Vitale all worth Noting .I was disappointed mainly by the middle of this film which gets saved by the performance by Meryl, after watch her back to back , Hearing her as Julia Child, and then as Ricki , two completely different sides of the Piano altogether, she could be mistaken for Patti of Selma , Marge Simpsons Sisters ,
Ricki lived away from her Family to really live to be the person who she believed she was, without compromise at the cost of perhaps her family ,should we judge her as this film should be judged for its faults?
Ill let you be the judge .