Martian Movie Review

October 4, 2015October 9, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Guys I’ve got a great movie to tell you about!!

First, I want to say that I finished reading the book The Martian by Andrew Weir this week and loved it. I normally don’t like a lot of modern novels but this book resisted the modern cliche of having the lead character be all brooding and conflicted. It had the audaciousness to have a lead current-day character that is actually likable!!! I seriously feel like that is so rare in modern books (even YA we get a lot of Bellas and dystopian brooding characters snooze…).

In both the movie and the book I loved the character of Mark Watney and found even the smallest victories compelling. Plus, the overall story of his rescue is so exciting!

If you don’t know The Martian is about an astronaut named Mark (Matt Damon) who is left in a storm by his crew on Mars. Each day then presents Mark with a series of problems, which he uses his know-how as a botanist and scientist to solve.

I never thought I would be so excited for a character growing potatoes but I’m telling you in both the book and movie it is so thrilling when he harvests crops on Mars just based on his ingenuity and smarts.

He’s also such a likable character. In the movie and book much of his personality is presented through daily logs that he does. In these entries he is serious but also extremely funny. It feels like a well-rounded real person. Matt Damon is just nerdy enough and cool enough to pass off both sides of Mark’s personality. It really worked!

It is perhaps easy to compare The Martian to Interstellar because both have Matt Damon as a marooned astronaut but they are totally different films. One is a philosophical treatise on the meaning of life and the connection of individuals and the other is an engrossing action movie about a man trying to get rescued and survive.

It is perhaps closer to Gravity but that is really more of a thriller with Sandra Bullock’s character being much less of an expert and more a helpless pedestrian in space who has to figure out a way home. The tone in films is very different. I loved all 3 films so it is good company any way!

The surrounding players around Damon really helped as well. To me there wasn’t a single misfire in the cast. Director Ridley Scott did a great job and that is saying something considering some recent misfires like Exodus: Gods and Kings. Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, and more play the crew that leaves Mark for dead. For not being in that many scenes they are fleshed out characters that have to make difficult decisions about their lives verses one man left behind. Throughout the movie there is a looming question- ‘how valuable is one human being?’.

Jeff Daniels is great as the head of NASA. He has to deal with the bureaucratic side of things and could have been a one note bad man executive character but he’s not. He’s practical but wants to do what is right as well. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the mission director who becomes an advocate for Mark and in a way helps narrate the story back at home. Kristen Wiig is the PR rep for NASA and she does a good job being practical like needing a good photo of Mark on Mars to sell the public on him while still intensely caring for him too.

Sean Bean is a director who refuses to see the practical, bureaucratic side of things and Donald Glover is a young astronomer who has a breakthrough that helps the rescue. They all make such good use of their minimal screen time.

I was totally engrossed in this picture. It is the kind of film you want to finish and cheer. And this works because Mark is such a good person. You want to believe in the value of one person and that such effort would be made to rescue the one. A side of me kind of wishes it was a true story especially when the Chinese get involved. Wouldn’t it be great if we were all rooting for the same humans?

With Gravity there is a sense of relief when she is free from danger but it’s the kind of relief that you get at the end of a thriller. The bad guy (outer space) is defeated and the character can breath. The Martian is a triumph of human being over insane odds so it has more a tone of a Rocky movie or a sports movie with the underdog finishing victorious!

It’s a cliche but I literally was on the edge of my seat. I was leaning as close to the screen as I could get I was so anxious for everything to work out. I couldn’t have been more absorbed in the film. And just as in the book each victory for Mark makes you smile. It’s so satisfying!!

As far as content it is on a whole pretty tame. There are 4 F words and a few other profanities. You do see Matt Damon’s butt in a scene and he does surgery on himself that is bloody. That’s it. I have to say I would feel comfortable taking mature kids and teens to The Martian. It actually could inspire kids to see so many creative uses for science and math used by a variety of different personalities.

I loved The Martian in both book and movie form. I recommend reading the book first and then seeing the movie if you can. I did not see it in 3D or on Imax but I am sure it is cool in those formats.

Definitely my favorite live action film of the year. Go see it!

Overall Grade- A+ Content Grade – B-

Here’s my youtube review.

The Visit Review

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Yesterday was a very sad day for me at the movies. I was going to see the Iron Giant special release and went to the Draper theater instead of The District and by the time I noticed it I was too late to make the film. 🙁

I had my popcorn and icee in tow and not wanting to just leave I decided to go see The Visit. My brother really liked it as well as some friends and I have been trying to expand my movie comfort zone a little bit with a few more scary movies. So I guess take this review with a grain of salt because it after all wasn’t Iron Giant…wa, wa, wa.

So what did I think of The Visit?

Well, I thought it was a thoroughly generic predictable horror movie. I am not the most versed in the genre but I could predict everything that was going to happen. And of course because it is M Night Shyamalan we get a big twisteroo that was so obvious even for him. So no I wasn’t really a fan.

There are some good things about it. First, the performances are all fine. Most of Shyamalan’s movies have fine performances. The two kids are particularly good with Olivia DeJonge as Rebecca and Ed Oxenbound (from Alexander Terrible Day).

The Visit is also much tighter than the typical Shyamalan film. There are no speeches and philosophizing and thank goodness he doesn’t cast himself in the movie (I’m talking to you Lady in the Water). This may be Shyamalan’s tightest film with really no dead time where the story isn’t moving along.

But just because something is better than garbage doesn’t mean it is good. I’d rather watch the transformers movies than watch most of Shyamalan’s films and that’s saying something. I’d sit through Nut Job, Legends of Oz and Hero of Color City before watching The Last Airbender or After Earth again (those were the 3 worst animated films of 2014).

I feel like a lot of people are giving The Visit a pass because it isn’t as bad as The Village or The Happening. I’d agree with them but if it was Johnny Movie Man making the film I think 90% of critics would be giving it a lower score as a generic predictable horror film. I mean is it really as good as The Conjuring or something like that?

I don’t want to give any spoilers away but basically the film is about 2 kids that go for a visit to see their grandparents. Their mother is estranged from them but they want to see the grandkids. She sends them off without showing them a picture. Don’t you think a mother who is estranged from her parents would want to show the kids a picture of the parents? Especially if they are getting on a train and having to meet strangers? I found that highly improbable. And if things were so bad between mother and parents with no pictures or physical contact wouldn’t she have them watched out for by a friend of hers from high school or something like that? It all seemed hard to believe.

But fine accept that the Grandparents seem lovable at first but then weird stuff starts happening and at first they discount it as old people stuff, but it keeps building to a point where they really should be asking more questions and seeking help. We also find out where the Grandparents volunteer each week, which I won’t give away because it gives away a lot.

The thing with most horror movies is that characters get signs to leave or get out of the house and then they make the wrong decision every time. This movie is no different. The ending is tense but the kids had so many opportunities to leave and they keep going back for another interview or another discussion that it defies credulity even for children.

The other bone I have to pick with this film is it is shot in found footage style which is annoying but also makes no sense to the story. There is no way the Grandparent characters would allow the filming to take place or participate in it. It doesn’t make sense with their characters or personality traits in every other way in the film. The found footage also causes a lot of telling rather than showing and it just makes the whole movie seem so unbelievable. I understand they shoot films this way because it is cheap but it comes off looking just that and again it doesn’t work with the characters and story we are being told. It would have been so much better if it had been shot like a regular film. I haven’t been a fan of Shyamalan’s films but he usually shoots them adequately.

So that’s why in the end the movie felt really stupid to me. The characters behaved in nonsensical or stupid ways and the story didn’t really make sense or was completely obvious so not very scary (and I get scared pretty easily).

Like I said, I really feel like people are giving this a pass because it isn’t as bad as Shyamalan’s other films but is it really good? I guess if you like generic predictable horror movies than this is for you. As for me I thought it was lame but then again I was expecting to see Iron Giant so take it for what it’s worth. Sigh…

If you want to be scared I think The Gift is much better. It is still creeping me out when I think about it. It’s way more realistic, surprising and scary with really good performances.

Overall Grade- C- for the good performances and tightness of story.

The Intern Review

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

The Intern should have been a movie I loved. As most of you know I love romantic comedies. There aren’t very many made these days and I miss them. The Intern isn’t really a romantic comedy but more of a friendship comedy but it has the lightness of the genre. It is also a movie about work which is another favorite topic of mine in the movies. (I think the movie may be getting more praise than it deserves because so few movies like this are made more than how great it actually is…)

Unfortunately, I ended up with really mixed feelings on this one. I explain why in my video review where I give a spoiler warning to give you time to stop watching if you want too.

There are things I liked in The Intern. Robert Deniro and Anne Hathaway are really charming in their roles.

Anne Hathaway’s Jules (a very romcomy name) felt to me like what Devil Wears Prada Andy might be doing at that phase of her life. She has a daughter and her husband is a stay-at-home Dad. She runs an internet startup company that is new and hip and overwhelming her life.

They decide to hire senior interns and Robert Deniro is bored with his life much like the guys in Walk in the Woods. So, he decides to apply and gets the job. Showing up in a suit and tie and carrying a handkerchief for all girl crying moments (seriously) he charms his way into the hearts of the entire office.

He really charms the audience too. He’s so likable and fun and it makes you wish you could hire a senior intern to help you and give you counsel whenever you need it…

However, that is also a weakness of the film. He really becomes kind of a senior citizen superhero. I’m all for having characters in movies that are good people but why not have one piece of advice he gives actually not apply to the new workplace? Wouldn’t that have been an interesting dynamic for both characters to absorb and learn from?

I really liked the scenes with him and the other young men in the office but I also thought they could be a bit patronizing. Are young men really so stupid they need to be told to not show up for a new job in your pajamas?

But they do work and I was charmed by them and I did laugh. Where the movie really had problems for me was in the conflict and resolution in Jules’ personal life and with her marriage. It is very spoilery but I go into it in a spoiler section in the video if you want to know. Basically I didn’t buy the way it was all resolved. I didn’t think it made sense for either character (both professionally and personally) and it was kind of a deal break for me on the film.

So I like things about it but I think it could have been much better.

Overall Grade- C

Song of the South Review

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Yep I’m going there.

After many requests, I finally watched on youtube the controversial film Song of the South and wanted to give you guys my thoughts.

I’m sure many of you want to know first- is Song of the South racist? My answer is a definitive yes. Now is it the most racist thing I’ve ever seen? No. Particularly when it comes to Disney I feel like we often get two camps on racial sensitivity arguments. Some on one side defend every last thing in a Disney film as being above board. And then the other side nitpicks every detail and claims watching Disney will harm your children. I often see the same type of division among feminist writers (with obvious exceptions like our friend to the blog Swanpride). I personally think both extremes are nonsense.

Here’s how I see it. When I was a kid I watched Gone with the Wind repeatedly. I knew it was a good movie with many positive attributes (and the fact my Grandma loved it was in its favor). But I was also not stupid. I knew it was not an accurate depiction of slavery. And I will say I never ‘loved’ the movie because the portrayal of the slaves made me uncomfortable even as a kid. Still worth seeing but its not a film I would personally ever want to own. I knew that as a kid and I know it now.

I think we need to have a similar confidence with material like Song of the South. Kids aren’t stupid. They know this is a movie and with a little careful parenting we can help them understand that the filmmakers meant well but there are some racially insensitive or racist moments.

That said, is the movie worth going to such a great deal to see? Gone with the Wind is an important movie in the history of film for many reasons. To me that is worth sitting through some uncomfortable moments. However, I don’t think Song of the South is on that level.

In fact, I think if it wasn’t for the controversy and a great song Song of the South would be completely forgotten. I found it to be thoroughly lame.

So what’s the story of Song of the South? It is set in Reconstruction Era South and based on the Uncle Remus storybooks which were popular in the 20s. Uncle Remus is a jolly old black man (a caricature for sure) played with a lot of warmth and light by James Baskett. He won a special academy award for his performance and it is deserved. He makes you smile even if you know such a man in real life would probably be more wounded behind all those stories.

So there is this little boy named Johnny who is Grandson of the plantation owner. His father has left doing some fuzzily explained editing job for a newspaper. The child actors in Song of the South are not very good. I found them cloying and annoying and not convincing at all.

Basically Johnny and a little girl named Ginny keep getting bullied by these two other kids on the plantation. Uncle Remus cheers them up with stories about Brer Rabbit and his gang. And when he first meets them he sings the iconic song Zip-a-dee-do-dah

There are three shorts with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. I found all 3 to be forgettable and have a few cringe inducing moments. None of them made me laugh or were that creative or different.

It’s also very difficult to understand the Redneck English of the Brer characters from time to time. Most of the shorts are Brer Rabbit about to get eaten by Brer Fox and Brer Bear and him getting out of it in the end. But we have a tar baby which I understand was a part of the stories but feels extremely uncomfortable and another scene where Brer Rabbit is in a hangman’s noose, which given lynchings that were still happening in 1946 is tough to watch (and its not like we are free from such racially driven violence today by any means).

Basically the bullies keep picking on Johnny but the Mother blames Remus and says he must stop telling the stories (how about you actually raise your son lady?…). This is so upsetting to Remus he is going to leave the plantation, which I found highly unlikely. This kid has just been there a few days, so I doubt telling the stories to the white kids would be that upsetting to Remus. But various things happen and all is set right by the end of the movie.

So again I do think Song of the South has racist or racially insensitive moments. Is that a reason to not see the film? You have to make up your mind for yourself on that. I do think the hearts of the Disney team were in the right place. They wanted to make a jolly film based on these folk stories.

It is not a hateful picture but racism can be unintentional and still be racism. Again, I think kids are smart enough to know a film with animated bears and rabbits isn’t a historical depiction of the post-war South. And the movie doesn’t teach them any bad lessons as far as their own behavior is concerned.

But like I said, I don’t think the movie is worth such an ordeal with your kids. I don’t think it is damaging to them but I also think they won’t be that entertained by it so what’s the point? To me it was entirely forgettable. Personally I think Disney should just release the film and it would be quickly forgotten. By not releasing it they are making it into a bigger issue than it is and making the film seem more important than it is.

It has a nice song and an engaging performance but that’s about it.

And if you like it I don’t think you are racist or a bad person. I can see things to like about it. This is just strictly my opinion for myself and I don’t judge anyone else on what they can or cannot stomach and still enjoy.

Zip-a-dee-do-dah!

Jungle Book Trailer Review

September 16, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys! I got a chance to watch the Jungle Book trailer today and it was pretty good. It wasn’t as jaw droppingly awesome as some people had led me to believe out of D23 but it looked good. Then again, the folks at D23 saw over 3 minutes of clips including clips of Christopher Walken as Louie and Bill Murray speaking as Baloo.

I’m really excited about this video because I’ve been conquering the behemoth that is Adobe Premiere. Normally I pick up a software with ease, even software that is tough for others I get very quickly. But Premiere has been very difficult for me to learn. I used a few lectures from Lynda.com but mostly through playing around with it and not being intimidated. Today’s breakthrough was I learned how to place still images within the video and I don’t even need a green screen! Hooray!!! (I know it might sound like it but it was really hard!).

Here is the actual trailer.

I’m most hopeful they will change the ending because I hate that in the original animated film. I am also curious how much of the music they are going to use. I wonder if it will be like in Cinderella where she just hummed a few of the songs but they weren’t ever sung as musical numbers. If they are going to move away from the musical they must be embracing the book more because there isn’t a ton of story to the original film. I just hope they get it right because they are playing with fire because ending aside I love the original film.

What did you guys think of the trailer? Are you excited or cautiously optimistic like I am?

Learning to Drive Review

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Today I decided to not see M Night Shyamalan’s new movie The Visit (I don’t like horror movies) and opted for a smaller film- Learning to Drive. I went into it not knowing much and I left feeling it was just okay. (hey you win some, you lose some, and some are just okay).

Learning to Drive stars Patricia Clarkson as Wendy, a woman who is dumped by her cheating husband and is forced to learn how to drive (living in Manhattan she hasn’t had to learn). Her driving teacher is a Sikh man named Darwan played by Ben Kingsley.

The actors are what make this movie work as well as it does. I really liked Clarkson who seemed just like a middle-aged New York yuppie trying to figure out her new life. It really worked. Kingsley is also very good as a practical but kind-hearted man. It was neat to see a Sikh man as the lead as that is a religion and culture I admittedly know very little about.

For a lot of the movie they are in the car, doing the driving lessons and talking. That part worked pretty well. I like when movies are about ordinary life. (I guess that is why I loved Boyhood so much!). This is just two people talking in a car. Love that.

I liked that they were only friends and we get stories from both of their lives. Both characters are equally developed and focused on. And it is kind of an interesting dynamic to have Wendy’s relationship falling apart at the same time that Darwan marries a woman he has never met in an arranged marriage.

I also liked the scenes with Grace Gummer as Wendy’s daughter Tasha. You get the feeling that the marriage held it all together until the daughter was out of the house and it all fell apart.

There is also an interesting message that even reading can be harmful when it distracts you from the people in your life.

All that said, the movie struggles with tone. There are scenes that feel like a romantic comedy. Then others that get very serious. And others that are a silly sex-romp. It earns its R rating and all of that content is completely unnecessary and actually a distraction (at least for me) from the good stuff.

Also the ending was kind of a letdown. A character does something that I didn’t think fit with his or her character in the rest of the movie.

Director Isabel Coixet has worked with both Clarkson and Kingsley in the past and you can sense that kind of familiarity. It felt like watching some of her friends live their lives. I just wish the script by Sara Kernochan had been more focused and like I said had more control of its tone.

So learning to drive has some good stuff but problems as well. I’m not sure how helpful that review is but it’s what I thought!

As far as content there is some crude humor, profanity, and strong sexuality albeit brief.

Overall Grade- C just for the good performances and the few other things I liked.

Content Grade- C- (adults and mature teens only).

The Man from UNCLE Review

August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Let’s start out this review by saying I am not a Guy Ritchie fan. Why? Well, simply put I don’t like the way he directs action in a movie. I hated the way he turned Sherlock Holmes into a bullet dodging, explosion jumping action hero in his Sherlock Holmes movies and I really didn’t like the action in his latest film The Man from U.N.C.L.E. He uses lots of shaky cam, whip pans, split screens (sometimes 5 or 6 splits) and jerky cuts with extreme closeups like on someone’s eye or cheek in the middle of an action scene! All of that I hate.

That said, I liked The Man from UNCLE. It’s not going to be a favorite of mine but it almost worked in spite of Guy Ritchie not because of him. Ignoring the action, I had a fun time with the movie.

The Man from UNCLE is based on a British TV show from the 60s that evidently was an homage to 007 and James Bond style films. Henry Cavill rescues this movie with tons of charisma and charm as secret agent Napoleon Solo. He reminded me of Cary Grant or Clark Gable. That old movie star kind of persona you need for this kind of part.

He has good chemistry with Armie Hammer who cheesy Russian accent and all he makes it work as agent Illya Kuryakin.

The two must work together with Alicia Vikander (who overnight is in every movie and is always great) to get her father’s computer disk for a nuclear weapon from an Italian crime donnette played by Elizabeth Debicki (who makes an icy vileness.) It is kind of funny in this movie you have a Brit playing an American. An American playing a Russian. A Swede playing a German and an Australian playing an Italian! Oh well!

Hugh Grant also shows up in about 3 scenes and I wish we had gotten more of him. If they do a sequel I hope they make him a bigger character.

The plot is pretty silly and a lot of realizations and twists don’t make sense but I didn’t mind that for this type of spy movie. It’s incredibly stylish with great clothes and pithy dialogue and one liners. That all worked. The tone can be a little uneven at times and again I blame Guy Ritchie for that. He stays in scenes too long to a point where it becomes uncomfortable. For example, several scenes Armie Hammer’s character gets very angry and the scenes go on very long and it causes him to lose his bubbly charisma he has in other scenes.

It could have been easily 20 minutes shorter and been much better but I loved seeing the foreign settings especially Rome and the actors were generally very likable and entertaining that it worked for me.

This is the kind of movie if you see it is on cable give it a watch. In fact, it might be better that way because the shaky cam and jerky editing of the action scenes works better on a small screen. It at least is an action movie which doesn’t try to explain everything and just kind of moves from one set piece to another. You get the feeling it is in on the joke and the camp factor of the film.

If you hated Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes like I did you will definitely see some of the same techniques and it is nauseating and annoying here too but at least suits the project a little bit better. Plus, the plot doesn’t verge into the supernatural or other eye rolling escapes like in Holmes movies (and no slow motion dodging bullets that they must have done 30 times in the last SH movie).

Perhaps fans of the original show will be annoyed (I’m a massive Sherlock Holmes fan) by his style on their franchise, but as I had never heard of the show it didn’t bother me. Over all, I had a good time watching this movie despite the terrible action and directing choices.

Overall Grade- C

As far as content it keeps the language to a minimum and the action is so choppy I don’t think it is very upsetting. There is implied sex but nothing is shown and characters are shot and tortured for a fairly long sequence.

Content Grade- B

I’ll See You in My Dreams Review

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Last night I had a bit of time and figured why not check out a movie? For a second I thought about seeing if Fantastic Four is ‘that bad’ but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I looked to see if there was anything else with actual good reviews I could see (I’m thinking about going out of my comfort zone and seeing The Gift but wasn’t ready yet). Then I noticed at the cheap movie theater I’ll See You in My Dreams was playing. This was a movie that I noticed at my local independent theater a few months ago and I thought it looked good. Then I saw it had good reviews (94% on RT) so I figured let’s give it a shot and I’m glad I did.

In many ways I’ll See You in My Dreams is similar to Second Best Marigold Hotel with both featuring senior citizens trying to live vibrant lives. They both explore themes of love, friendship, death and of course aging. I liked the overall experience of Marigold a little bit better because it is more joyful and there are more characters to bounce off of, but I’ll See You in My Dreams definitely has better writing and characters. So perhaps it would really depend on my mood? Either way I’m glad movies are being made with an older audience in mind ( I would group Mr Holmes in that demographic as well for 2015 releases).

I’ll See You in My Dreams stars Blythe Danner as a woman who has been alone for decades after her husband died in a car crash in 1994. But fortunately she has his life insurance and other income to live comfortably. She also has a group of girlfriends played delightfully by June Squibb, Rhea Perlman and Mary Kay Place (I hope I have friends like that when I’m older!).

This is one of those movies I love that feels very ordinary. It’s just about this woman’s life- her friends, losses, conversations etc. It opens with a death that will make even the most hardened tear up but Carol doesn’t really absorb it or respond to it and that bothers her. She also seems to be a bit of an alcoholic- medicating her loneliness with wine and other spirits.

She eventually is so lonely she starts up a friendship with Lloyd played by Martin Starr who cleans her pool. This could have been groan inducing but it is actually a sweet friendship (and that’s it. No romance!). The dialogue in their scenes is particularly strong. It felt almost like watching a good Broadway play.

He convinces Carol to go to the karaoke bar and sing and it turns out she has a great voice. There is something a little bit sad about that, and it seems like she senses the missed opportunity which is her life. (The movie really is quite tragic in a way).

There is also a lot of comedy with Carol going to a speed dating session and another hilarious segment when the cops pull the ladies over when they are a little bit tipsy from medical marijuana.

Then midway in the movie we meet Bill played by Sam Elliot. He is a gold old boy Texan who is never without his unlit cigar. Elliot is charming in the role but I never felt like him and Danner had much chemistry. I didn’t buy her being attracted to someone like him.

But without spoiling it a tragedy does occur and I loved Carol’s interaction with her daughter played by Malin Akerman. They did have chemistry and it was interesting Carol seemed disappointed with her daughter but it is never quite sure why. Perhaps it is because she is single and never gave her any grandchildren? I’m not sure but I found the relationship compelling.

In many ways watching Carol reminded me a lot of my Grandma who is still with us but unable to carry on the kind of relationship we once had, which makes me sad. I found myself feeling a little bit depressed at scenes because I miss talking to my Grandma and the way our friendship used to be.

I’ll See You in My Dreams is not a movie that will change your life but I liked spending 92 minutes with these people. They felt like real people I could relate too and care about. The dialogue was particularly strong from director and screenwriter Brett Haley.

This is coming out on blu-ray and Itunes soon so if you missed it I’d say it is definitely worth a rental. Especially if you can get your Mom or Grandma together and have a movie night you will have a cry together and enjoy the film.

Also this may be the last movie I will see in current day where a character doesn’t have a cell phone but does have one of those old school answering machines.

Overall Grade- B

Content Grade- B

There is 1 f word, some vulgar language, drug use for humor, death of animal shown, and some sensuality mostly off screen.

Ricki and the Flash Review

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 | Rachel's Reviews

Well today I was planning on seeing Fantastic 4 but then I heard a bunch of people I respect say it is the worst superhero movie since Batman and Robin and I thought ‘surely there is something else I could see…’ and fortunately there was. I decided to go to Ricki and the Flash starring Meryl Streep and written by the great Diablo Cody. In many ways this movie is kind of like the Age of Adeline. It’s no masterpiece but a solid entertaining film.

Streep stars as Ricki who left her family when her 3 children were little to pursue her dream of being a rock star. Even now as a more mature woman she dutifully plays at a nearly empty club every weekend and works at Whole Foods during the day. This might seem like a sad lot but she is happy with the life she has chosen. Rick Springfield plays her bassist in the band and quasi-boyfriend and he is very good in the part (as in Age of Adeline the acting across the board elevates this material).

Then out of the blue Ricki gets a call from her ex-husband played by Kevin Kline in Indianapolis (I like how every movie uses my poor Indianapolis as the go-to for boring Middle America). Her daughter Julie, played by Streep’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer, has been dumped by her husband and is in a deep state of depression. Kline is at his wits end and calling his ex out of desperation because she has been so inactive in most of the children’s lives.

She agrees to come and Streep does such a good job showing the insecurity of a woman who both has regrets and has no regrets. She’s confident but completely insecure at the same time. It’s very good. Because of the abandonment her children hate her and think she is a big joke.

I particularly liked a scene where they are at dinner and the way they are interacting reminded me of tense family dinners I’ve been at from time to time.

This is where Diablo Cody shines in writing complex characters that you both despise and root for at the same time. Ricki wasn’t a good mother because she wasn’t there for her kids; however, she was pursuing her dream which does make her sympathetic. Ricki is also not just the aging rocker but she is also a Republican with a brother who died in Vietnam. There are layers to her just like actual human beings.

There’s a strong element of work and dreams which is a topic I always respond too. How much is too great a sacrifice to be happy in your work? What is it worth to go for your dreams? Should Ricki have been miserable and stayed with her family or tried (and failed) to be a rock star? It’s an interesting question to ponder. The movie does also make the good point that if Ricky was a man our society would be far less quick to put the ‘bad father’ label on him for doing the same things.

Streep learned how to play the guitar for the movie in a matter of weeks and does all her own instrumentals and singing, which is pretty remarkable. We of course know from many other films (Mama Mia, Into the Woods, Prairie Home Companion etc) she can sing but she proves it once again here.

There are some problems with the film which take it down from being a favorite. The singing segments, while good, are all too long. Especially being covers (except for 1 song) we don’t need to hear the entire song. A verse or chorus is plenty to get the message. If they were going to do full songs I wish it had been original songs because wouldn’t someone who sacrificed so much for music do more than just covers? At least at the end with her family you’d think so.

The ending is also pretty sappy but I didn’t mind it because every family has sappy moments. Thank goodness we do because all the drama wouldn’t be worth it! But the ending does drag on a little too long as well (and it’s not that long of a movie). They definitely put a bow on everything and make all the problems go away. It is very sitcomy in that way.

All that said, the writing is good with complex characters. The acting is across the board good. The music is good if a little bit too long. Overall, I enjoyed watching Ricki and the Flash and being a part of this family for 100 minutes. I think if you go you will enjoy it and be glad you went.

After all, not every movie has to be a masterpiece to be worth a hardy recommendation.

As far as content there is some profanity and vulgar language, characters smoke pot and unmarried characters have sex mostly off screen. I’d say it is fine for teens and up.

Overall Grade- C+

Content Grade- B-

I’m thinking I made the right choice over Fantastic 4! 🙂

My youtube review