Meryl Streep can do no wrong.  The greatest film actress of all time is right at home portraying a lifetime rock ‘n roller with tattoos, weird hair and serious mommy issues.  Streep has proven she can sing before, in several films, but here she really cuts loose with a mix of rock standards and more recent melodies.  She is great.

The Jonathan Demme film which surrounds her is not so great.  The story has Seattle singer Ricki Randazzo (Streep) being asked to fly home to Indianapolis because her grown daughter (Mamie Gummer) has just been dumped by her new husband.  Ricki hasn’t been back in years, so it’s a bumpy reunion, but, to quote the film, sometimes a girl just needs her mother.

In true Demme fashion, this is an all-inclusive drama.  Every lifestyle is present and accounted for, contributing its piece to the puzzle.  And that is what it feels like, which is why the film seems overly artificial. Written by Diablo Cody, it also tries really, really hard to be hip, when perhaps a bit of old-fashioned schmaltz might have been effective.

The music is really good.  Rick Springfield portrays Greg, Ricki’s guitar player and boyfriend, and he has most of the movie’s best lines.  On the other hand, Kevin Kline seems befuddled most of the time, and Mamie Gummer’s character is more annoying than empathetic.  Ricki is great, and the Flash is a very good house band, but the rest of the film is not up to their standard.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  25 August 2015.