Ricki and the Flash

Ricki and the Flash

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Produced by
Written by Diablo Cody
Starring
Cinematography Declan Quinn
Edited by Wyatt Smith
Production
companies
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • August 7, 2015 (2015-08-07)
Running time
 101 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million[2]
Box office $41.3 million[3]

Ricki and the Flash is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Diablo Cody, about a woman who leaves her family to become a rock star and later gets a chance to make amends. The film stars Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer, Kevin Kline, Sebastian Stan, Rick Springfield, Audra McDonald, and Ben Platt. The film reunited Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline for the first time since Sophie's Choice (1982).

Principal photography began on October 13, 2014, in Rye, New York. TriStar Pictures financed, and released the film on August 7, 2015.

Plot

Ricki chased her dreams of becoming a famous rock star by abandoning her family. She gets a chance to put things right when her ex-husband Pete asks her to visit Indianapolis and help their estranged daughter Julie through a difficult time.

Ricki has a rock band that plays a regular gig at a small bar, when she's not working as a cashier to make ends meet. Julie recently attempted suicide because her husband cheated on her and is divorcing her. Despite being broke, Ricki comes to Indianapolis to help her daughter, but Julie is hostile. Likewise, her two sons are hostile and unwelcoming. One is gay and the other recently became engaged, though no one told their mother. Still, Ricki gets through to Julie. Unfortunately, her husband's second wife, Maureen, returns unexpectedly, confronting Ricki with some hard truths. She wasn't there for her children when they needed her and Maureen was. Ashamed, Ricki returns to her band in California angry and bitter, insulting her guitarist who is in love with her. He makes her realize he cares and they make love. Maureen sends Ricki an invitation to the son's wedding as an olive branch, but Ricki can't afford to go. Her boyfriend sells his best guitar to pay for the tickets. Despite her attempts at reconciliation, she's clearly still an outsider. The wedding guests look askance at Ricki when she gets up to toast the bride and groom. As her gift, having no money, she has her band take over and play for the guests. Her son and his bride start the wedding dance and slowly the guests join in.

Cast

Production

On March 25, 2014, it was announced that Meryl Streep had signed on to star in a film, as an aging rock musician who abandoned her family to find fame and fortune.[4] Jonathan Demme was set to direct, based on an original idea and script by Diablo Cody, which Marc E. Platt, and possibly Mason Novick, would produce.[4] On April 1 of that year, TriStar Pictures was reportedly closing a deal to finance and distribute the film, titled Ricki and the Flash. Thomas Rothman's TriStar Pictures acquired the rights to the film, beating out several other studios, including Universal, Weinstein and Fox 2000. Novick was then confirmed to produce.[5] The project was set to be made in fall 2014, and Streep was preparing to play the lead.[5] On June 17, Kevin Kline and Mamie Gummer signed on to co-star in the film; Kline plays Pete, Ricki's ex-husband, while Gummer, who is Streep's daughter in real life, plays Ricki's daughter Julie.[6] On August 6, Rick Springfield joined the cast, as a guitarist in Ricki's band.[7] On August 8, Ben Platt was added to the cast, as Daniel, a bartender at Ricki and the Flash's regular spot.[8] On October 24, Sebastian Stan joined the film to play Joshua, Ricki's estranged son.[9]

On August 1, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter issued a story about Streep learning to play the guitar for the film. Writer Cody was quoted as saying, "The reason we haven’t shot the movie yet is Meryl's been learning to play."[10] The film is based in part on Cody's mother-in-law Terry Cieri, who has fronted a New Jersey bar band for years.[11][12] Cody said, "I watched her on stage so many times, and I thought to myself, 'This woman's life is a movie.'"[10] Cody said that she made up the title character, an aging musician who faces the consequences of having chosen music over family. Cody said there are not a lot of complicated roles played by actresses over 50, and Streep was in her mind when she was writing the script for the film.[10] It is the third film Streep and her real-life daughter Gummer have made together, after 1986's Heartburn and 2007's Evening. "It's going to be pretty exciting to see to watch them play against each other, I can’t imagine embarking on something like that with my mom," Cody said. "I feel like we would work out a lot of stuff."[10]

Filming

Filming was first set to begin on October 1, 2014 in New York City.[10] Principal photography officially began on October 13, 2014, in Rye, New York.[13] On October 14, Streep was spotted filming some scenes at Numi & Co. Hair Salon in Rye. On November 3, 2014, she was also seen filming in Nyack, New York.[14] The wedding sequence was shot at Untermyer Park in Yonkers, New York.

Release

On May 6, 2014, Sony's TriStar set the film for a June 26, 2015 release.[15] The release date was later changed to August 7, 2015. The film was chosen as the opening selection for the 2015 Locarno Film Festival which was held on August 5, 2015 in Locarno, Switzerland.[16]

Reception

Box office

Ricki and the Flash grossed $26.8 million in North America and $13.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $40.1 million, against a budget of $18 million.[3]

The film grossed $6.6 million from 1,603 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing 7th at the box office. The film added 461 theaters in its second week (a total of 2,064 screens), but dropped to ninth place with $4.6 million (a decline of 31 percent). In its third week the film grossed $3 million from 2,013 screens.

The film opened in Italy on September 11, 2015 and came in fifth place with a weekend total of $413,800.

Critical response

Ricki and the Flash has received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 64%, based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Meryl Streep's outstanding work helps Ricki and the Flash overcome its inconsistent tone and fairly predictable premise."[17] Metacritic gives the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18] CinemaScore announced that audiences gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[19]

IGN gave the film a score of 7.8/10, saying, "Ricki and the Flash offers a breezy, heartwarming, if somewhat manufactured tale about an aging rocker reconnecting with her family".[20]

References

  1. ↑ "RICKI AND THE FLASH (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (August 4, 2015). "Meryl Streep May Not Get an Oscar Campaign for 'Ricki and the Flash'". Variety. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Ricki and the Flash (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Sneider, Jeff (March 25, 2014). "Meryl Streep to Star in Jonathan Demme Movie Written by Diablo Cody". TheWrap. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Fleming, Mike, Jr.; Busch, Anita (April 1, 2014). "Meryl Streep As Hard Rocker? TriStar Closing Deal For 'Ricki And The Flash'". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (June 17, 2014). "Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer in Negotiations to Join Meryl Streep in 'Ricki and the Flash'". TheWrap. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ford, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (August 6, 2014). "Rick Springfield to Rock Out With Meryl Streep in 'Ricki and the Flash'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ben Platt Will Segue from 'Mormon' Elder To 'Ricki And The Flash' Barkeep". Deadline.com. August 8, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Sebastian Stan Joins 'The Martian' And 'Ricki And The Flash'". Deadline.com. October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Abramovitch, Seth (August 1, 2014). "Meryl Streep Learning Guitar for Diablo Cody Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ Biese, Alex (July 24, 2015). "Meryl Streep plays Toms River mom in new film". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Miller, Julie (August 5, 2015). "Meet the Woman Who Inspired Meryl Streep's Ricki and the Flash Character". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Meryl Streep filming 'Ricki and the Flash' in Rye, NY". onlocationvacations.com. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  14. ↑ Muchnick, Jeanne (October 16, 2014). "Meryl Streep Films Movie At Rye's Numi Hair Salon". The White Plains Daily Voice. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  15. ↑ "TriStar Productions Dates Its First Two Films for 2015". ComingSoon.net. May 6, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Meryl Streep Musical Dramedy 'Ricki And The Flash' To Open Locarno Film Festival". Deadline. May 6, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Ricki and the Flash". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ricki and the Flash". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  19. ↑ "'Mission: Impossible' Beats 'Fantastic Four'; 'The Gift' Unwraps $11.8M, 'Ricki And The Flash,' 'Shaun The Sheep' Results — Box Office Final". Deadline. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  20. ↑ http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/08/06/ricki-and-the-flash-review
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