“I was invited by Sony to attend an expenses paid trip to the Ricki and The Flash Screening and Press Junket in New York City. All opinions are my own.”

Ricki and the Flash

PG-13

2015 ‧ Drama film/Comedy-drama ‧ 1h 42m

It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Ricki Rendazzo (Meryl Streep), a one-time wife and mother of three who left her family behind to follow her dreams of rock ‘n’ roll stardom in California. Now, the singer and guitarist must face the music when she returns home to Indiana to reconnect with ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline), troubled daughter Julie, engaged son Josh and younger son Adam. Filled with regret, Ricki hopes to find redemption for all of the bad choices that she made in the past.

As you all know by now, I got an awesome opportunity to fly to NYC to watch the movie Ricki and the Flash, as well as interview the stars of the movie, Meryl Streep, Rick Springfield, and Mamie Gummer. A once in a lifetime, amazing experience.

A private screening room in the Sony building

So… you wanna know what I thought of the movie?

In all honesty, I LOVED it! It was real, and gritty, and messy, and so lovable at the same time.

The music in this film is fantastic. It was all performed live- how cool is that? There is a fantastic energy in all the musical scenes.

The acting is phenomenal. I mean, nothing less than the best from the queen Meryl. Her ability to get us involved in the storyline completely is amazing. But the rest of the cast does a great job as well, I was super impressed.

As someone who has fairly recently gone through a divorce, I know that families don’t always go as planned. Things happen. Dreams die.

The movie opens with Ricki and her band performing in a dive bar in the San Fernando Valley of California. It’s clear she didn’t accomplish her dreams of becoming a true rock star. She works a day job at a grocery store. She’s dealing with bankruptcy. As she travels back to Indiana to comfort her estranged daughter during a sudden divorce, she finds that reconnecting with her family might be more difficult than she thought.

The whole movie reminds me of the quote I have hanging in my home. “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.” Hard things happen. And as Ricki told her daughter Julie in the movie during a particularly hard moment, sometimes the only thing to do is to “walk on.” I love that the movie isn’t about pretending, It’s about being yourself. You do you, friend. And don’t be overly apologetic. We’re all human, we all make bad choices, and this little thing called life is all about trying to find a way to ban together instead of tear apart.

The movie will make you think, and the ending will make you smile.