We’ve watched Meryl Streep play as a Polish immigrant, famed chef, British politician and scheming witch over the years, but this summer will find the three-time Oscar winner in a role that’s different from any we’ve seen her take on before: that of a hard-rocking guitarist whose greatest love is her music. The first trailer for Ricki and the Flash finds Streep jamming out with a passion and prowess that is surely going to get whispers of the O-word (Oscar, of course) going into the fall.
It’s not all musical reverie for Ricki, though. The pic centers less on her rock ‘n’ roll career and more on the repercussions of her hitting the road and leaving a husband (Kevin Kline) and daughter (Mamie Gummer) in the dust. Here’s the official synopsis:
Meryl Streep takes on a whole new gig – a hard-rocking singer/guitarist – for Oscar®-winning director Jonathan Demme and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody in Ricki and the Flash. In an original and electrifying film loaded with live musical performances, Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family. Streep stars opposite her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer; Rick Springfield, portraying a Flash member in love with Ricki; Kevin Kline as Ricki’s ex-husband; and Audra McDonald as Kline’s new wife.
The involvement behind the camera of Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), making his first drama in some time, and Cody, whose Juno script is among the finest of the past ten years, will certainly encourage cinephiles to check Ricki and the Flash out, but Streep is undoubtedly the main draw here, and the trailer doesn’t pretend anything else. Audiences will be able to see her storm the stage August 7.
