An Ode to Music and Relationships: Ricki and the Flash Review

This one isn’t for the kids, but definitely for the parents who love music and for those that can relate to chasing dreams.

Rock dramas could easily populate a genre of its own. The new film, Ricki and the Flash starring Meryl Streep, is a unique story that seems to transcend genres and your typical rockstar story.

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Directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Diablo Cody, Ricki and the Flash is a story about a musician who set out to chase dreams at the expense of her family and traditional path in life. Ricki Randazzo, the veteran rocker, played by Streep, is at her best on stage, alongside of her multi-faceted band, the Flash. When her adult daughter is facing a crisis back home in Indiana, she has a chance to redeem her role as mother and come to the rescue, when she, herself, could use a dose of the same support and rescuing.

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In Ricki and he Flash, Meryl’s starring role has the potential to upstage this heartwarming story. Ricki’s relationship with her daughter, Julie, played by Mamie Gummer, is a modern mother-daughter relationship heightened by dysfunction and healing.  Mamie and Meryl’s onscreen relationship catapulted their real-life mother-daughter chemistry, and further solidified Mamie’s rising star status. Man, does she play the angsty, bitchy victim well!

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Ricki’s boyfriend, Greg, played by the ruggedly charming, Rick Springfield, lifts the love storyline at the best possible moments. Kevin Kline played a conservative secondary character as Ricki’s ex-husband. The talented Andra McDonald was nice to see in the film, but I thought her character was underutilized. 

The strengths of this film are the relationships, the live music and the raw emotion. When all three catalysts are in full force, expect all the feelings. All of them.

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As Ricki, we see Meryl as we’ve never seen her before. She’s passionate about her music and doesn’t apologize for chasing her dream to be a rockstar. At one point of the film, while on stage, she starts a diatribe about why women are punished for putting careers first. We knew she was talented, but she takes her musical chops to the next level. She learned to play the guitar for the film and shows her rockstar status in various scenes. Of all the songs played, “Cold One” is undoubtedly the most unforgettable. This song catapults different meanings with every time it’s played, with the last scene making it all come full circle.

If you’ve ever chased a dream, wanted to chase a dream or had a dysfunctional relationship, Ricki and the Flash will resonate with you. The relationships portrayed by Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer and Rick Springfield make this film worth seeing and believing in second chances.

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On that note, I had a cool opportunity to sit in on a blogger junket with three of the main characters of Ricki and the Flash. As expected, Meryl was gracious, Mamie was cool and reflective, but quite honestly, Rick stole the show for many of us who grew up listening to him.

 

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I have a short video to share of his impromptu serenade! Several people asked the predictable questions about Meryl working with Mamie, and what it was like for Meryl to play live for the movie. (It was great to work together; and it was fun to rock out with Rick and the band!)

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The one question I asked had to do with music for the film and how music affects them. 

 “The music and lyrics throughout Ricki and the Flash complemented the storyline and evoked so much emotion between Ricki and Julie and Ricki and Greg. Do any of you have songs or lyrics that could be a part of your life’s soundtrack?

Mamie Gummer answered that she spent many years listening to powerful female musicians such as Sarah McClaughlan, Fiona Apple and attending Lillith Fair—the type of music that speaks to your emotions.

 

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As a college kid of the 90s, I can totally relate to this language and music choice!

Ricki and the Flash is now in theaters and is rated PG-13. 

 

Rihanna, Jim Parsons and Steve Martin Take us ‘Home’ in Dreamworks’ Latest Family Film

In Dreamworks’ new animated film, “Home”, two unlikely characters cross paths and work together to overcome alienation while learning to embrace imperfections.

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When the free-spirited tween, Tip, voiced by Rihanna, finds herself isolated and alone as the eccentric aliens, Boov, colonize Earth, she ventures out with her cat to search for her mom. As the Boov settle into their new digs, the quirky and often misunderstood, Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons, finds himself in another unfortunate scenario when he mistakenly sends a party invitation to everyone in his contact list—including their evil enemy, Gorg. When the cluelessly arrogant Boovian leader Captain Smek, voiced by comic legend Steve Martin, finds out that Oh made another mistake that might cost them their new home, ultimately, Oh is banished. 

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 At the press junket a few weeks ago, I enjoyed listening to Rihanna, Parsons and Martin as they charmed a room full of bloggers and journalists.

 

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To my surprise, Rihanna was hilarious and self-deprecating; at one point, I totally felt as though we could potentially be BFFs. When a fellow blogger asked Rihanna about how important it was for Tip to resonate with her own character and traits, I appreciated her candor:

 “I think it was both important to me and DreamWorks Animation for this to be as realistic as possible.  We wanted little girls to feel empowered, little girls of any size, shape, color, race.  It didn’t matter.  We wanted girls to just feel strong and brave and empowered and beautiful and like they can do anything.  And they can take charge of their life or their situation no matter what.”

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Hopefully, girls and boys will appreciate and be influenced by Tip’s fearlessness and determination to rise above adversity.

In person, Parsons was just as charming as I’d envisioned. When asked what his takeaways were from “Home,” Parsons appreciated several of Oh’s strengths.

“Oh has his own selection of them too, this optimism and eagerness and friendliness and hopefulness, that I don’t carry with me as in abundance and as much of the time as he does.  And there’s not a good reason for–I mean, life gets in the way.”

 

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Parsons provided charm and awkward likability to the outcasted Oh, while Rihanna gave Tip a sassy, yet vulnerable persona. As recognizable entertainers who stepped out of their usual realm, providing voiceovers for Home was a new frontier for both Rihanna and Jim Parsons.

It was Martin’s brand of grandiose comedy that made Captain Smek’s arrogance and cowardice believable, yet strangely likable. Martin, of course, could effortlessly entertain the room with a single sentence.  As for Martin’s takeaway from the film:

“I’m vowing to be more animated.  That’s true.”

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 Jennifer Lopez voiced Tip’s mom and lent her vocals for one of the songs in Home. With nods to popular lyrics and a unique soundtrack, the music was just as fun as the story itself.

 

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“Home” unearths a number of themes, but one message that will hit home for kids and families is that camaraderie and friendship sometimes evolve when you least expect it. Despite their differences, when Tip and Oh reluctantly partner up to overcome adversity, they realize they have just as many similarities as they have differences.

 

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As their adventure unfolds, they learn about their own personal strengths and acceptance for things out of their control. As Tip and Oh bond and travel to search for family and safety, ultimately, they find friendship and compassion. Dreamworks’ “Home” is yet another fulfilling family film that explores into multiple thought-provoking themes while maintaining a fun and relatable storyline for kids. 

 

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Overall, this is a fun film for families, but the story may be too big for littler audiences. For those who might not understand complex story lines or who can’t sit through an hour film, I wouldn’t recommend seeing Home in the theaters. At times, I felt that the dialogue was abrupt and borderline questionable. I found myself instinctively thinking a few times “we don’t say that,” as if my 7 year old was watching next to me. Toward the end, in one of the turnkey scenes, grief and loss is a brief topic. So, if your child is uneasy about loss and darker concepts such as evil, I’d give a second thought before watching “Home.”

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From Tip and Oh’s light-hearted coming of age story, we learn that the idea of “home” transcends its literal meaning of a place or a thing. “Home” playfully depicts home as a feeling of contentment and a personal destination where love, life, family, friends converge. Home arrives in theaters on March 27.

 

 

Full disclosure: I was invited to participate in this press junket, but did not receive compensation. As always, opinions on NKT are my own.

Wisk: Then and Now

Ring around the collar! *gasp*

Remember that catchphrase that the Wisk commercials made popular way back when?  Good times.

Times, how they’ve changed.  Thankfully, we haven’t had too many travesties involving ring around the collar (thank goodness for our dry cleaner.)  Stains, however,  yeah, we have our fair share of those.  While renovating this house, we’ve painted, sanded, shoveled, cleaned and polyurethaned endlessly.  And expectedly, we’ve got the stains to show for it.

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