Ricki and the Flash 2015

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: Ultimately, spending time with these people is pleasant, lived-in, honest and even thought-provoking. And when the dialogue stops, there's a fun, golden not-too-oldies live music soundtrack to hum along with too. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: The skilled veteran Demme alternates dysfunctional family confrontations with easy comedy, expertly peppering in just the right rock tunes along the way. It's hard not to like Ricki, but the film makes no excuses for her actions. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The film, which Diablo Cody wrote and Jonathan Demme directed, is a work of bulk-size bogusness. Barely a single scene is convincing. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: The movie itself seems equally divided between the sensibilities of hyperverbal writer Diablo Cody and music-centric director Jonathan Demme, and ends up falling into a muddy gap between the two. Read more

Susanna Schrobsdorff, TIME Magazine: Streep's latest mom role, as Ricki Rendazzo in Ricki and the Flash, has a light, Mamma Mia! vibe, but it still hits all those hot buttons. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: This is a shaggy, easily distractible film that consistently defies expectations to both charming and baffling effect. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: As in Demme's best early work (Handle With Care, Melvin & Howard), there is both an affection for a uniquely American type of oddball and a clear-eyed sense of their foibles. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: What might have been must be better than what's here, because what's here isn't much. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Ricki and the Flash" feels like "Stella Dallas" as remade by Jean Renoir - it's a humanist suburban fable. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The result is cold porridge. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: All good protagonists are contradictory tangles of experience and disappointment, but Cody is so tentative in her approach, nothing gathers steam or sticks in emotional terms. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Despite Streep's best efforts, Ricki seems more of a contrivance than a flesh-and-blood character. Read more

Patrick Dunn, Detroit News: Streep may have just been looking for some variety and an Oscar. But why is Demme, the great director of "The Silence of the Lambs," wasting his time on this? Read more

Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The film roars to life too intermittently...but, sadly, too much of Ricki and the Flash is just the same old song. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: Ricki raises smart questions about why a mother's musical ambitions are so much more selfish than, say, seven-time dad Mick Jagger's, and even the shamelessly corny sing-along finale wrings a few real tears out. Read more

Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter: Even with its well-observed moments, the movie's nonmusical interactions, whether reaching for laughs or poignancy, too often feel flat and forced. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Diablo Cody's dispiriting screenplay is all about everyone coming to love Ricki, faults and all, and that is just not convincingly done. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: If only Demme had shot a scene of Ricki stubbing out a joint on a "Cathy" comic strip. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Streep and Springfield make a surprisingly sweet pair of retirement-age rockers, but the scattered story line keeps losing the beat. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: While there are some bright notes in Cody's writing, the situations feel a little tired, and the characters unexplored. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: A warmth radiates through Ricki and the Flash like a song sung true. A film that adores its characters this much is sure to be adored in kind. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The story here, like a lot of bar bands, goes loud to cover up mediocrity. When Streep sings, though, so does the film. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Ricki and the Flash" seems like a squandered opportunity for this humane, curious and liberal-minded filmmaker to reflect on some uncomfortable realities. This isn't really rock 'n' roll. It's easy listening. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Demme has already made a messed-up family matrimonial get-together way better than this, with a way better screenplay than the one Juno writer Cody has tossed off. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The movie is mature in the way it handles the regrets of absentee parents and the ways in which their children relate to them. There's a little Hollywood artifice here but not so much that the emotions feel inauthentic. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Director Jonathan Demme, with music in his DNA, offers a heartfelt salute to those who play the underside of rock & roll because, well, they have to. Too bad the rest of the movie is dime-a-dozen family soap opera. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Streep's performance, like lightning, jolts everything. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: If only Streep would have put down the microphone and let Springfield sing "Jessie's Girl," "Ricki and the Flash" might have had half a chance. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The screenplay doesn't lack for memorable zingers, and thanks to Cody's script and Streep's performance, Ricki emerges as a complex, self-contradictory person (even if most of the supporting characters don't). Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Creating a film with solid drama beside good humor is tough. It's harder still to balance them against a complicated character so they don't sprawl lopsided, and to send the audience home feeling satisfied. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Quite a few filmgoers lament the shortage of movies for adults. "Ricki and the Flash" goes against that trend with rock 'n' roll attitude. Read more

Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic: Just when the story beats start to feel unbearably obvious, the film changes keys, becoming less family dramedy than a concert film. Read more

Tina Hassannia, Globe and Mail: Regardless of its flimsy emotional interior, Ricki is a worthy addition in this year's growing canon of strong female-centred films, and it would be wise to remember Streep's stunning performance come awards season. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Worth watching, and rocking to. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: An assemblage of almost-characters in an almost-story, resulting in a very disappointing almost-movie. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Streep finds her way to the soul of several songs. There's devastating connection and tears in these moments: delicate gratitude in "Drift Away," nothing short of maternal redemption in a roaring version of Springsteen's "My Love Will Not Let You Down." Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: There's a lot to like about Ricki and the Flash, but seeing Meryl Streep perform the song Wooly Bully with a bar band is a particular highlight. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Ricki and the Flash swerves near stereotypes and swerves away at every turn. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's a crowd-pleaser every bit as calculated and earnestly defanged as a Golden Oldies bus-and-truck tour. It's fun while it lasts, even if the Bic lighters stay safely pocketed at the end of the show. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: There are fleeting moments of real fun. Still, it's hard not to wonder why so much in the movie went so wrong. Read more