RICKI AND THE FLASH

Meant to see this last year when it came out, because it's written by Diablo Cody, directed by Joanathan Demme and has an amazing cast that includes Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Rick Springfield (yep), Charlotte Rae, Audre McDonald (double yep), and more. How could it miss? Well, the actors are great at doing what's written but what's written is pretty weak, a lot like the title.

The parts that have to do with being a bar band, that mostly plays covers, struck me as pretty realistic (especially the love of making music under no matter what circumstances), and even at times moving. Maybe because the musicians are all real. Not only Springfield (playing great guitar licks, and doing a good job keeping up with Streep's master class in acting, as she does a good job keeping up with him and the other musicians) but also the late Rick Rosas, Bernie Worrell and Joe Vitale.

Demme even gets Bill Irwin to do a cameo that is as unrealistic as some of the other contrivances Cody has come up with. But despite the weakness of the script (and one casting choice, Mammie Gummer, who plays Streep's daughter and is her daughter in real life, but was miscast, like Sofia Coppola in GODFATHER III), I still found my eyes tearing up at the incredibly contrived last scene. Must be cause I'm so feckin old now.