MovieChat Forums > Ricki and the Flash (2015) Discussion > So bad

So bad

posted 9 years ago by jsagotsky-1
3 replies | jump to latest

Mostly because of bad writing as the actors and director have a lot of talent.

One dimensional characters with major deviations. Kevin Klein is a prissy rich guy who smokes dope with his suicidal daughter. We're supposed to like the Meryl Streep character, but she is gratuitously nasty to a guy sharing a pastry with his daughter. Meryl Streep a counter culture person, so how does she come up with taking her daughter to an expensive spa.

I also was distressed by how many people were nasty. I live in NYC where in a normal day I see people with pink hair, tattoos, and nose rings. Yet everywhere the Meryl Streep character went she got dirty looks.

The major premise was totally wrong. Ricki complained that Mick Jagger had 7 children that he didn't pay attention to. Women who have sex with and children by Mick don't expect him to go to the school plays. He is so rich he can take care of them financially, and that's all they could expect. Ricki gave up her family to play for a cover band in a totally sad bar while working in a grocery store. Not a good life choice.

The worst part of the movie was the end. Meryl Streep should have been glad to be there and blend into the background. Instead she took the party over and played a Bruce Springsteen song, which I myself wouldn't like as the "first dance". No explanation how her broke band got there. Then the bride who didn't want them really loved dancing, and the entire wedding party broke into a choreographed dance. Horrible.

One major problem with Diablo Cody's writing is she sacrifices character development for a joke, which is often a bad joke. It just wasn't funny that Meryl Streep told a gay Asian he looked like Bruce Lee.

So big disappointment, and maybe worst movie ever for Diablo Cody, Jonathan Demme, and Meryl Streep. So much wasted acting talent. The only actor I thought did really well was Meryl Streep's daughert.

[–] tenbananas 9 years ago

I agree with everything you said. It was so ridiculous how rude everyone was to Ricki at the wedding. She might have gotten a few weird looks, but upper crust types wouldn't openly sneer and stare at her like that. The whole thing was hard to watch. Nowhere near as good as Juno, and Meryl Streep's singing made me cringe. (And I worship Meryl Streep).

[–] JaysonT 8 years ago

Juno has nothing to do with Ricki and the Flash- totally random comment.

She used KEVIN KLINE's credit card to pay for the spa.

This is easily one of Streep's best performances and it's too bad we live in an era where people will diss layered work like this but praise crap like Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle and Joy because she's "young and hot and the It Girl". Seriously, Streep is almost 70 and she was giving energy on the stage belting those tunes out like a true rockstar.

[–] Keely 8 years ago

Are you not aware that Juno and Ricki & the Flash were both written by the same person??

I absolutely agree with jsagotsky and tenbananas. I had to fast forward through most of the performances. They were almost embarrassing. To give the movie some credit, in an interview Streep said that they had to show the singer and the band being not so great in order to justify the fact that she never became a star. But I found the whole thing rather annoying and unreal, very disappointing given that it was directed by the great Jonathan Demme.