Ricki and The Flash

"Well she was an American girl 

Raised on promises 

She couldn't help thinkin' that there 

Was a little more to life 

Somewhere else 

After all it was a great big world 

With lots of places to run to 

Yeah, and if she had to die 

Tryin' she had one little promise 

She was gonna keep" 

(Tom Petty - American Girl)

Two things came to mind at the opening of the film, with Tom Petty's classic song bursting into my head -- One, that I had boots just like those (loved those boots!!! I broke the sole the morning I realized Jay was the most beautiful soul I had ever met - when I kicked a traffic light button - way too drunk and too crazy to care---- but to other stories... sorry I tend to get lost in thought). And two that this song was going to be the setting for the story.  All the things that she held in her heart, and the guilt that did not let her move on; but the story she had to go and find.  Linked to my own torments - dreams vs responsibilities - sometimes, as hard as it may seem for everyone else to comprehend, you need to let go and find the thing that makes your soul tick over, otherwise you are just kind of a flicker rather than a flame.

Ricki (aka Linda Brumel - Meryl Streep) is more than anything a musician, you can see that it is her passion to stand on that stage, but she is broken, the voice and the aura does not carry the momentum that her heart desires.  There is something missing, and it is not the brilliant Greg (Rick Springfield) who stands by her through all the turbulence that she is so good at throwing his way; no it is not his love and support that is lacking.  It is something within her, until she finds it, nobody could possibly fill that void.  Being a complete nutcase for love stories, I wished there was more to their part; theirs was a seriously cute relationship in the making.  Greg's painful looks when she throws a curve ball his way made me understand why (superman) thought I didn't respect him; playful banter, I told myself; but I guess sometimes we underestimate the power of our words. 

But its the other kind of love that this story is about, the kind that has no choice, nor boundaries, and the one that we mess up over and over, just trying to make the right moves.  Linda is summoned back to Indianapolis by her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline) after their daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer) is abandoned by her new husband for a sticker loving, nasty piece of work (but we'll leave that be).  Ricki's life is the way she wants it, strategic, with boxes ticked and plotting along; she is not responsible for anyone and keeps them all at arms length anyway.  Being called back to play the role of mother is scary for her, but she doesn't question it, she puts on all the wear that protects her and gets on the plane to face the music.  And though there are many obstacles in her way, there is no question that both her family and her needed to go through this moment to heal and move forward.  

There is a scene in the kitchen when we become aware that Linda and Pete are the kind of friends that you know would have been impossible to separate.  The kind of soul connection that is rare to find in a life; thunder and rain, but that which carries with it a chemistry that cannot be equaled.  Sorry Maureen (Pete's wife), but no matter how many frills you put on the furniture, and how amazing your cooking and how grand the house; the way that Pete and Linda look at each other cannot be compared.  But choices are usually made because it is safer to be with the easier version of our lives. They have a chemistry that is fun and free - and cannot be avoided when they inhabit the same space.

When Linda tells Pete that music was her dream and she needed to follow it, he painfully tells her he thought they were her dream...  she asks if she could have had both and he resonates with a no.  Painful truth number two, sorry (superman) when I said you should decide between two characters in a film, you asked if you could be both, and I said no.  How wrong of me...  the kind, selfless, funny, soulful and shy kind of person that I adore, and the dedicated, strong, powerful, sensual man you want to be knows for.  You can, and should be the two parts of you.

'Ricki and The Flash' is fun, but it is also poignant and resonates (I am sure than with more than just me) that we all find forks in the road of life, and though we have at that moment choices to make, these do not come easy.  Greg reminds Ricki that just because we mess up once does not mean that we do not deserve another chance, and gives it an uplift of hope.  

In the end, all is somewhat well, but for me it is obvious that what was once lost cannot be the same again.