Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

MartinHafer I have the utmost respect for Meryl Streep as an actress. She is amazing and has deserved all the acclaim for her roles in a wide variety of exceptional movies. That being said, a few years ago she made "Mama Mia"...which proved that despite her prodigious talents, Ms. Streep cannot do everything...especially when it came to singing. Perhaps this is why she later made "Ricki and the Flash"...to prove she really COULD sing. And, while she was passable, it just convinced me that once again Meryl should NOT be singing in her films. Inexplicably...Streep just finished another musical..."Mama Mia! Here We Go Again". Please, please stop already!!The story begins with a long song delivered by Meryl in a honkeytonk....and there was much more of this to come. If they'd just stopped with that one song, it might have been okay. They didn't. You learn that Meryl left her family to pursue her musical career. Her husband (Kevin Kline) has since remarried and they've both lived totally separate lives since. However, their daughter (played by Streep's real life daughter) is having emotional problems and he has invited her to come back to see their daughter, and, perhaps, to help. What comes after that is pretty cliched, though the film DOES have some excellent moments and might even elicit a few tears. My problem is the shameless way the film had Ricki (Streep) come and perform at her son's wedding and, apparently, that just made everything great and the film ends. Thank heaven for the magical power of Meryl's singing....not.The bottom line is that this movie would have been excellent if there never had been any singing at all...and the singing was a distraction. Additionally, the band actually had, as lead guitarist, Rick Springfield...a guy who really CAN sing and make music....why not let him sing if you insist on having singing?! Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this one...mostly because Meryl is a mega-talent....just not when it comes to singing.

gbkmmaurstad Linda Brummell a.k.a. Riki Rendazzo (Meryl Streep), leaves her husband and children behind to live a Rock-n-Roll life. She's been somewhat successful, but now plays in local bars at night and works at an organic grocery store during the day.While his 2nd wife is away, Riki's ex-husband, Pete (Kevin Kline) calls her and asks her to leave California and head back to Indianapolis to be with their daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer/Steep's real life daughter). Julie is very depressed, looks a wreck, could use a shower, and is generally miserable after her husband leaves her for another woman. Riki heads home unsure of what to expect and wondering what kind of help it is that she can really offer. Riki's boyfriend, Greg (Rick Springfield) is just as tired of Riki's self absorbed ways as her family is. This is one of those modern day screwed up families that seems to find their way. Good popcorn movie.

Todd Cochran Are you EFFING kidding me?!!! Apparently written by orphans who lived in a cave and never had any CONTACT with humans, Families,relationships, or music and know nothing of life. If ever there was a film where EVERYBODY INVOLVED did it for a paycheck with NO REGARD for the entertainment value...THIS IS IT. I have never seen such pathetic effort from two talented leads. Kevin Kline is the one good part but even the make-up artist failed miserably...notice his jaundiced appearance. The music was terrible - even by bar-band standards. The writing is off-the-charts HORRIBLE and if the WGA offers submissions for censure or could bar a writer from ever writing again, whoever wrote this garbage deserves their serious consideration.

aGuiltySoul This is a competent film that nevertheless didn't seem to quite get a handle on what it wants to be: family melodrama or character study. I wish it had committed to the latter, because Ricki the California rocker is fascinating stuff. A disappointed but never say die guitarist and singer who clerks retail during the day to help pay her bills,she sacrificed her family for this. We find that she has big regrets but not enough to wish to undo the life she lives as an all but anonymous rocker playing cover songs with her band in a small bar. That film would have been on the level of The Wrestler, but this one surely is not.The good stuff: Meryl's acting of course, the subtleties she brings to her character are amazing. Meryl's daughter who plays her character's daughter does a very fine job also. I very much like Rick Springfield who plays Ricki's boyfriend and fellow guitarist in her band. And the music is great. I could listen to and watch this put together band all night long.But the less than good stuff: Kevin Kline is miscast. He doesn't gel as the ex husband or as the left behind father who raised the kids. The whole family dynamic seems to fall flat. Angst in the Midwest living in a large but sterile mcmansion. As I've already implied, this is the schizophrenic split in the film I did not like. Too stereotypical and been done to death. And, as much as I liked Ricki & The Flash performing, they devote a surprising long piece of the film showing it. The excess really added nothing to the plot or character. It was almost like they edited in the DVD extras to fill in the time.Overall, fun to watch for the music but that and the acting doesn't rise it to the level of more than a grade C.