My copy of Nathan Hill's novel The Nix arrived today. I'm excited to begin reading and being that it's been about a week since it was announced that the book would be turned into a limited series starring our girl, I thought I'd add a few more thoughts. To my knowledge, there hasn't been any additional info on the details of the project since the day it was announced. All we know is that J.J. Abrams would be producing (along with Meryl?), it it going to be on television and that Abrams would likely direct at least "a few" episodes.
Certainly there's a lot of info we can find on the actual plot of the story, and readers are of course welcome to explore that info to whatever level of detail they choose. I'll likely create a post or two as I discover the 600-page tale, but will be sure to add spoiler alerts.
Big things we don't know for sure: who will write the screenplay, how many episodes there will be, on which network it will air, who will direct, when shooting is likely to begin and of course, who else will star. The main character sounds like it's actually the son, Samuel, but from what I understand both he and his mom, Faye, seem like leads. No doubt I'll be picturing Meryl whenever her character is present or referenced in the story, but I'll have to wait and see who comes to mind to portray Samuel.
Thinking about how glad I am that we have at new project to obsess talk about, I couldn't help but look back to the fall of 2014, just after it was announced in October of that year that Streep had signed on for Florence Foster Jenkins. We essentially had five major projects that were either about to or expected to come to fruition: Into the Woods, Ricki and the Flash (which was filming), Florence Foster Jenkins, The Good House and Master Class. Now I'm just hoping beyond all hope that The Nix actually sees the light of day, as we know nothing is ever guaranteed. Considering the fact that Meryl may be co-producing, I agree with a commenter here that it may be more likely to happen if Streep has a stake in the production herself.
Until we get confirmation, I'll just have to remain patient and enjoy envisioning Meryl in the pages of The Nix.
Florence Foster Jenkins is entering its second full week in cinemas. I thought it'd be a good time to take the pulse of the film's box office performance. Up to this point, I'd say it's doing ok. Knowing that its aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes was certified "fresh" at 86%, I had thought it might be a bit of a sleeper success this summer, as a niche option for adult movie-going compared to the typical tentpole superhero flicks. Ultimately, however, the film has basically fared identically to the the less-than-stellar Ricki and the Flash a year ago. At the same point in 2015, Ricki sat at $15.2m, while Florence has netted $15m.
I wonder if the overall quality of Florence might give it a bit better lasting potential, however. I definitely have to agree with the critics that Florence is a better film, which possibly could result in word-of-mouth sustaining potential. If that were the case though, I think we would've seen a bigger jump in its second weekend, where instead, it did the same numbers as Ricki. If the trend continues, we should expect that Florence will top out around $26m domestically. On an estimated $29m budget, that total would technically make Florence less financially successful than Ricki, which only cost around $18m.
It's not as if on paper Florence would be a huge draw. A 1940's-era dramedy about a bad opera singer doesn't exactly scream blockbuster. Getting an overall sense of whether the film has met expectations is therefore a bit tricky, but I'd wager the studio was hoping for better. That said, it's by no means a flop, and I think those involved are likely pleased with the overall quality of the film.
Jeeze it's been over three years since I've posted in this section! Now that the awards season for 2015 has wrapped up, I think it's okay to officially complain about the fact that Meryl received no recognition for her performance as Linda 'Ricky' Rendazzo in last year's Ricki and the Flash. Up to this point in my "Snubs" tag I've focused on films for which I thought Meryl deserved an Academy Award nomination. I'll concede that Streep's work in Ricki was not necessarily up to that standard, but a Golden Globe nod should've been a lock.
Much of the issue with whether or not Meryl gets nominations is how long it's been since her last. She had been nominated for an Oscar six out the last eight years. Having won her third in what some would consider a controversial year in 2012 for The Iron Lady, her two follow-up nominations were met with much less enthusiasm. She barely squeaked in for August: Osage County, and although her reviews were good for Into the Woods, she garnered zero critics' nominations/awards for that role, leading some to believe she either shouldn't or wouldn't be nominated for Oscar.
With the news for Ricki coming out in early 2014, we were all a flutter with anticipation, namely due to the pedigrees of those involved. Jonathan Demme directing a script by Diablo Cody with Meryl in the lead role seemed like the perfect recipe for success. Meryl would learn guitar, rock on stage and get to work alongside her daughter Mamie in the film. How can this not be a huge winner?
Alas, the film did not live up to expectations. It's possible that it was never intended to be "that" movie, but I think most of us were hoping that if it didn't fit the bill for awards, it would at least be a box office success. Its returns weren't terrible, but nothing like It's Complicated, Mamma Mia! or even Hope Springs. Oscar was out. Up until Golden Globe nominations were announced last December I still thought Meryl would make it into the top five for Musical/Comedy. Instead, the field included the following actresses:
1. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)-winner
2. Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
3. Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)
4. Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)
5. Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
Admittedly, this was a tough top five to crack. Reasonable category fraud for Lawrence, but having seen Joy, it's not as blatant as The Martian. Loved Schumer. Having not seen the other three, how can I say Meryl should've made it? If we're really considering acting and not humor or film success, I find it very hard to believe Streep was not more deserving than at least one of these ladies. I can't begrudge Tomlin or Smith their due as actors over 70, and both Schumer and McCarthy headed box-office juggernauts. Despite her fine performance, I'm afraid Lawrence would be the one I'd replace.
If there were ever a year to not get too upset at Streep being left out of the "season", it was this one. Ricki as a film wasn't strong enough to contend with the others in its category and Meryl is an almost perennial nominee. Let someone else in, I guess. Ultimately, this only better sets her up to earn record 30th Golden Globe and 20th Academy Award nominations for Florence Foster Jenkins.
It's funny looking back to a little over a year ago when, shortly after it was announced that Meryl would being starring in a biopic about Florence Foster Jenkins, I thought that 2016 might be one of the most dense awards seasons Meryl will ever experience. Fast forward to today, and not only was Meryl not nominated for a single award in any screen performance this year, but many people are relieved that she's not at all involved with the shit storm that has ensued following the Academy's failure to nominate a single actor who is not white.
Before Mike Nichols's passing in November 2014, I had envisioned a possible scenario in which Meryl could feasibly be nominated for three Golden Globe awards in three different categories this year: Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries for Master Class, Actress in a Comedy/Musical for Ricki and the Flash and Actress in a Drama for Florence Foster Jenkins. It seemed possible, if not probable, that they'd release Florence before year's end since it wrapped in July last year. I now also doubt it'll go drama, but I suppose it wouldn't have been completely unrealistic to hope for two nods in Musical/Comedy, as it's happened for Meryl before with Julie & Julia and It's Complicated in 2009.Despite having high hopes for the success of Suffragette, I never expected Meryl's role to garner any awards traction.
Alas, zip. And that's OK. Master Class was obviously never made so we can't be upset about her not being nominated for that, and Florence Foster Jenkins will have its chance next year. I maintain that Meryl should've made the top five at the Golden Globes for Ricki, but will be the first to admit that the film fell far short of expectations.
Now to the shit storm. The lack of inclusion of any actor of color among this year's Academy Award nominees is tragic. Perhaps I'm in the minority opinion however in believing that the issue is not necessarily with the Academy. The films have to be there. How are non-whites going to be nominated when there is a dearth of roles and stories that get green-lit for black actors? The great Viola Davis had similar thoughts when she was quoted recently as saying:
"The problem is not with the Oscars. The problem is with the Hollywood movie-making system. How many black films are being produced every year? How are they being distributed? The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role? Can you cast a black woman in that role? Can you cast a black man in that role?"
Agreed. If there were a huge variety of high-quality films involving black actors with great performances from which to choose, and the Academy still overlooked them, then I'd be singing a different tune. We can debate whether Idris Elba should've been nominated based on the quality of his performance (I say yes), but I think there's no persuasive argument that suggests the playing field is level in regard to actually getting performances like his on the screen in the first place. Recent comments by both Charlotte Rampling and Michael Caine don't exactly bolster confidence in people's ability to understand the bigger issue.
As far as Meryl staying clear of the controversy, many point to the backlash she and others experienced during the promotion of Suffragette for wearing shirts that said "I'd rather be a rebel than a slave." I think it's nonsense. I can appreciate how in the context of race relations in the United States it seemed like a poor choice. I also realize that I approach these topics through the gaze of a white male. But I have to believe that we're smart enough to think critically about categorical differences. Although slavery and its ongoing pervasive negative effects on African Americans in the United States is a repugnant stain on our nation's history, there exist other populations globally who have historically been equally as oppressed. And it's not exclusive to a specific skin color. We know that slavery is much older than racism. So, appreciating that it's OK to acknowledge that oppression of any group of individuals, women in the case of Suffragette, is abhorrent and should be spoken out against, perhaps it's a bit more palatable seeing Meryl or any white woman wearing such a shirt. It also just happened to be a direct quote from Emmeline Pankhurst, Streep's character in the film.
How fitting that only yesterday it was announced that Joseph Fiennes (a white man) will be portraying Michael Jackson (born a black man) in a U.K. television show. Is this bad timing or perfect timing? It opens a huge can of worms, and hopefully a thoughtful discussion about what this means. Of course many people are outraged, while I imagine there are almost as many asking "how could a black man portray Michael Jackson circa 2001?" The questions are important and demand a conversation about what it means to act, or what acting should be.
I've exhibited few qualms about my interest in seeing Meryl portray former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. It's a purely selfish desire for me to be excited about seeing my favorite actress as a character few would ever expect her to inhabit. No doubt Meryl could do it in a way that wouldn't be a caricature. But it won't happen. Maybe it can't or shouldn't happen. But the reason it can't or shouldn't happen isn't about acting. It's about the fact that certain groups of people have been oppressed for centuries in our nation, and giving a job to a white actor who would be portraying a person of color takes us a step back. It would be great it we didn't have to think that way. Imagine non-traditional, race-blind casting in all genres. I'm not sure we'll get there in my lifetime, but before it can even be a consideration, the steps I've outlined above have to happen first.
I'll leave you with what has been a favorite video of mine. In 2012 Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer appeared on the Tavis Smiley show to discuss their performances in The Help. The actresses' comments, particularly Davis's, have and continue to be educational and a great perspective for me on the topic of race in the film industry. Enjoy.
I'm not going to call it a "snub" because looking at the list of nominees, it was going to be a difficult year for Meryl to get in. When I learned of the results this morning, I was honestly a little surprised that she didn't get nominated...it's usually a slam dunk, particularly at the Globes in this category. Her role in Ricki and the Flash seemed tailor-made for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Musical/Comedy Category. Streep actually had pretty decent reviews for her work, but with the high expectations from both director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Diablo Cody, the tepid quality of the picture sealed Meryl's fate.
Here are the nominees for Actress in a Musical/Comedy:
1. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)--probably not a comedy, but we've covered this already.
2. Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
3. Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)
4. Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)
5. Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
I'm sure Meryl is thrilled for her friend Lily Tomlin. I'm personally happy for both Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer, as both of those ladies crack me up. As a fan of Downton Abbey, I'm looking forward to seeing Dame Maggie in her film.
On the bright side, Meryl sitting a year out will improve her chances for recognition next year in Florence Foster Jenkins, especially since it already seems like that film, although mostly dramatic, will have some comedic elements and will likely end up in the Musical/Comedy category. Hoping she challenges for the win.
The full list of nominees can be seen here.
As the most nominated actor in Globes history, Streep will be seeking her 30th nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association next week. Normally, a nod is a foregone conclusion. With the tepid critical and box office responses to August's Ricki and the Flash,however, Meryl's almost automatic nomination could be in jeopardy this year.
Up to this point, I've only seen Meryl's performance and one other that is likely in contention, Amy Schumer in Trainwreck. According to the "experts" at Gold Derby, the current odds for Actress in a Musical or Comedy are as follows:
1. Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) 14/5 odds
2. Lily Tomlin (Grandma) 3/1
3. Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) 4/1
4. Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) 10/1
5. Blythe Danner (I'll See You in My Dreams) 18/1
6. Melissa McCarthy (Spy) 18/1
7. Meryl Streep (Ricki and the Flash) 20/1
8. Sandra Bullock (Our Brand is Crisis) 25/1
After the top eight, all contenders as given 100/1 odds.
Ok, a few thoughts. At the top of the list, we have Jennifer Lawrence, who has been regularly in award conversations for almost five consecutive years now. And Joy's positioning is highly likely category fraud. I'm not even going to get into it, because the occurrence is perennial and widely known. For crying out loud, even The Martian is competing in the Musical/Comedy category this year. We just have to deal with it.
I enjoy that the majority of actresses in this category are over the age of 40. In the top eight, four are over 65, two over 45. Schumer is 34 and Lawrence, the front-runner, is 25.
Meryl is totally on the bubble for a nomination in my opinion. I cannot imagine that Sandra Bullock will get in for a film that made back only quarter of its budget and is only at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. But I have a hard time figuring out whom among the top five could be replaced. Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer are locks in my opinion. Do they dare not recognize Tomlin, Danner and Smith? Three women of a generation that is increasingly less visible in cinemas of leading ladies. I suppose the same could be said for Meryl, but come on.
The only path I can foresee for Meryl's name to be mentioned next Thursday is that voting members of the HFPA want to ensure higher viewership for their telecast. Meryl's absence in a year where she has a film in contention may seem bizarre to filmgoers. Fingers crossed.
The Golden Globe Awards will be announced December 10.
Ricki and the Flash is now available for purchase on DVD, Blu-ray and HD download. Of course I purchased it on ITunes and last night I watched the special features, which is the best part of movies released to video. There's a brief 'making of' feature with commentary from Meryl and director Jonathan Demme. It was also fun to see Audra McDonald applaud Meryl's performance saying "of course she's believable as a rock star. She's believable in every role she's in!"
I won't spoil the rest so you'll have to get a copy yourself. Enjoy!
The always reliable Akron Beacon Journal (?) is reporting that Ricki and the Flash will be released to Blu-ray, DVD and digital HD on November 24. I think I had posted previously that we were expecting November for this so I'm not particularly surprised by the date. The film is currently still playing in a handful of theaters, and as this goes to print has grossed just short of $27 million at the domestic box office. With a budget of $18 million, it's by no means a huge success, but at the same time not a flop. Add another $11 million in foreign markets and assuming there wasn't a boat load spent on international advertising, it's not half bad.
Eleven days into its release, Ricki and the Flash has earned about $15 million at the box office. With a budget of around $18 million, it's clear that it will go beyond that, but probably not by a ton. This is perhaps a bit disappointing considering some of Meryl's more recent summer releases, but these days Sony isn't exactly known for their marketing prowess. A "fresh" rating of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes can't be fully to blame for somewhat tepid returns, although Cinemascore has Ricki's performance listed as a "B."
Unrelated, a couple nights ago I came across something related to the PBS documentary Caring for Mom & Dad that Meryl narrated back in May. I had sort of forgotten about this to the point that I thought it hadn't even been released yet. The program is only about an hour long but very much worth watching. It's not so much that Meryl does a good job at voice-over, but more the attention it brings to the serious topic of the ever-ageing U.S. population. As a health-care provider, I was very taken by the stories of the families (a couple of which were near Minneapolis) struggling to scrape by caring for their parents in old age. It reinforced for me how imperative it will be for our country to continue developing a sustainable means of affordable healthcare (ssshhh, single-payer!) as well as the necessary changes employers will have to adopt in order to maintain a thriving business in 21st century America.
Over the past two weeks my expectations for the "performance" of Ricki and the Flash have essentially done a figure-eight. For over a year, based on the description of the screenplay, the film's release date and comments from the cast, I assumed this would be a fun summer flick with potential do make a respectable showing at the box office. The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia and Hope Springs all came to mind as comparable set ups for Ricki. After the trailer was released a few months ago, my expectations were unchanged, as the film was depicted as relatively lite fare, with a handful of one-liners that bordered on being cheesy.
A bit over a week ago, as a few people who were privy to early screenings of the film began to tweet reactions, it appeared that the underwhelming trailers were somewhat misleading, and that it may in fact turn out to be a halfway decent film. Borderline raves for Streep, several "the trailers don't do this film justice" comments. Could this be become a critical and financial success?!
When the review embargo was lifted a few days ago, the brief high of thinking this movie may be a huge deal began to fade. Although Meryl continued to get praise, the overall tone seemed to be that yes, the trailers didn't give us a good sense of the actual contents of the story, but that its attempt at complex drama succeeded only intermittently, and that director Jonathan Demme couldn't do enough to improve Diablo Cody's uneven, unbalanced screenplay.
Well, I was able to catch a showing of the film a little earlier than expected. Joe and I are in Clevelend for his Masters Swimming event, and there was a theater near our hotel with a 7:00 show last night. I'll start by saying my overall reaction to the film is probably the consensus of what we're reading on Rotten Tomatoes; Streep good to great, the film so-so. While that may be considered a bit of a pattern in recent years with Meryl's movies, I think my reaction is about the same as what I expected before the first trailer.
The film begins showing Meryl as Linda "Ricki" Randazzo playing with her band The Flash in an almost empty bar in California's San Fernando Valley. We quickly learn through a few of her comments on stage that she is likely not a registered Democrat, something perhaps unexpected but resfreshing from a Streep character. Shortly thereafter, Ricki receives a call from her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline) and learns that her daughter Julie, of course played by Meryl's actual daughter Mamie Gummer, is quite unwell after her husband has left for another woman. Ricki spends money she doesn't really have to fly out to Indianapolis to be with her daughter.
As she arrives, the family's history begins to peel, and at its core is the event of Ricki's departure decades prior to fulfill her dream to be a rock star in Los Angeles. Suffice it to say, Pete, Julie and Ricki's two sons are understandably still resentful of her increasingly rare presence in their lives each year. This is made more clear at an uncomfortable family dinner where Ricki learns her eldest son Josh (played by the dapper Sebastian Stan) hasn't told her about his impending nuptials, nor that he had no intention of inviting her. True to her conservative views, Ricki also manages to alienate her gay son Adam (Nick Westrate) by not seeming to understand that marriage between two men may actually be important to both him and his friends.
Ricki succeeds at getting Julie pulled together a bit, not without a run-in with Pete's current wife Maureen, played by the luminous Audra McDonald (one of my personal favorite scenes). Following the scuffle with "Mo", Ricki returns to California with a chip on her shoulder, acknowledging in a bit of a tirade on stage that there is a double standard for men and women who choose to live the life of a "rock star." This uncharacteristic episode from Ricki brings to a head her relationship with her lead guitarist Greg (Rick Springfield), and the two eventually agree to be "more than friends."
The final chapter of the film sees Ricki and Greg return to Indianapolis, having received an invitation to Josh's wedding as a sort of olive branch from Maureen. In awkward fashion, Ricki explains in a toast that she has nothing to give but her music, and after a lot of confused and worried looks from the bride, groom and guests, everyone joins the dance floor and surrenders to the music and the moment.
Whew. That was a lot of exposition. Ok, I'd overall give the film a B. Many of the problems reviewers are having I too had with the movie. I would have preferred to get a bit more background on the events surrounding Ricki leaving her family. It seemed to jump pretty quickly to her being in Indianapolis, and then before we know it, Maureen is back and Ricki jets back to L.A. Some of the dialogue is predictable and not necessarily additive. The overall premise of the story and its characters is smart, but we needed more. More time, perhaps before Julie seems to no longer be depressed. More time to see Ricki interact with her sons. More time observing the almost excruciatingly uncomfortable dynamic between Ricki, Pete and Maureen.
Now to Meryl. I am no doubt impossibly biased to accurately describe her performance. She's always stellar to me. Specifically though, her character of Ricki, the person...kinda sucks. She's borderline-homophobic and racist, a bit of a leach and left her family to sing in a washed-up bar band all her life. Sadly immature. Yet I found myself completely feeling sorry for her. This is the woman who shouldn't really be getting my sympathy, but when she enters the environment of suburban Indianapolis, with the judgmental glares she receives simply for her clothing, the condescending tone Maureen takes with her every time they speak...I just wanted to give Ricki a hug. Yes, she's made her choice, but I feel it's possible that her choice was a false one, in that it didn't have to be either-or. The good or the bad of that I suppose is debatable, it's just the emotion Meryl's performance evoked in me.
I really enjoyed the music. There were a few times that Meryl seemed a bit stiff with the guitar when comparing her with Rick Spingfield. Some of her vocals pleasantly surprised me, while others solidified why Ricki never made it beyond the dive bars. Whether that was by choice from Meryl I suppose we'll never know, but it certainly fit the character. Springfield was one of my favorite aspects to the film. His acting was more than acceptable, and he convinced me that his character, while flawed, is a good guy with genuine feelings for Ricki.
The embargo from Sony has been lifted and we're getting several reviews for Ricki and the Flash, which of course opens nationwide on Friday. At the time of this posting, there are thirteen reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with a "fresh" rating of 69%. If that holds up this will be a critical hit. Of course, we can ultimately expect to get well over a hundred reviews, but it's encouraging to see its relatively positive start.
A music video for the original song "Cold One" from Ricki and the Flash was released today on You Tube:
We get to see a few new scenes from the film. Several advanced screenings have now taken place and we're getting a handful of Twitter reactions which have all been rather positive. After the initial trailers, many of us have been wondering if this was going to be a dud. I'm a little more optimistic about its potential critical appeal now.
Next weeks is a big week; Meryl will be hitting several talk shows to promote Ricki, we'll likely get critical reviews as early as Monday and both the film and soundtrack will be released on Friday. Getting excited for reactions!
The Telegraph posted a new trailer for Ricki and the Flash this afternoon. Unfortunately it's the only link I can find and no embed is available to copy and past the full video so the best I can do is provide the link:
First thoughts are that I think this trailer is a tad better than the first. A bit better cadence with some of the one-liners. Little time for music again, but I'm hoping the songs will be a helpful word-of-mouth positive when people eventually see the film. Opens next week!
An extended clip of Meryl playing acoustic guitar and singing an original song from her upcoming film Ricki and the Flash was revealed earlier today:
So great to see and hear some singing! With the film opening in just two weeks, we're starting to get some pretty regular news on it, with featurettes, clips and even a couple early screening reactions. Ok, just that one reaction from Kelly Clarkson, but it was good. We should expect to see Meryl on a few talk shows soon as well to promote the film. Filming wrapped on Florence Foster Jenkins last week, so she is likely back in the states ready to hit the circuit.
I came across a featurette this afternoon for Ricki and the Flash. We get to see a few new clips as well as brief commentary from Meryl, director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Diablo Cody.
The film will see it's world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival exactly two weeks from today and opens nationwide in theaters August 7. I'm confident it won't make you sour, Katie...even if Meryl doesn't wear a chunky necklace.
Double post. Deadline is reporting that Ricki and the Flash will have its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland on August 5. Bit of an unexpected choice I suppose, but the sooner the better so that we can start to get some reactions to the film and Meryl's performance. The film hits the U.S. two days later. I highly doubt Meryl will attend the Swiss premiere.
Yesterday, there were also a few new movie posters revealed for Suffragette, which include stars Helena Bonham, Carey Mulligan and of course, our girl. I think they look great. Can't wait for this pic as well. It's getting a fair amount of buzz around the film blogs I've been perusing so I hope it lives up to the hype. We can expect Suffragette to hit cinemas in the U.S. in late October.
Who?! I know you're thinking "who the hell is Jenny Lewis?" I didn't recognize the name either, but I cam across this article which talks about how Meryl gave the songwriter insight into her character Ricki to help compose "Cold One" for the upcoming film. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jenny is a former child star, whom I easily recognized from roles in The Wizard with Fred Savage ("he touched my breast!") and a guest appearance on the greatest show that was ever on television, The Golden Girls.
Can we sense Oscar buzz for best original song? Ricki opens in less than a month!
Just a few weeks before Ricki and the Flash debuts in theaters! I'll likely be seeing it for the first time in Cleveland, as Joe has a swim race there that weekend. A new tv spot was released today. Essentially nothing different from the trailer but worth a gander:
Well this was sort of unexpected, but a new trailer has been released for Ricki and the Flash.
There are a few differences from the first trailer. We see a bit more of the dramatic aspect of the story, concerning Ricki's rough relationship with her family and how that seems to be affecting the difficult situation her daughter currently finds herself in. Overall, still not a fantastic trailer. The first at least had a bit more music in it. I'll probably go into this not really expecting much. At this point I hope I'm pleasantly surprised.
A preview of the original song "Cold One"has been posted to the Ricki and the Flash website. Penned by Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice, we get to hear Meryl with the lead vocals. She provides a nice folk-rock sound to it..even a bit of gravel in her voice. I think what I'm most looking forward to in this movie is the music. The film opens nationwide August 7.
