A rock band playing "American Girl" in a decadent bar in Los Angeles, filled with a very hype bartender, a war veteran and some typical characters for this decadent setting is the very beginning of Ricki and The Flash. Directed by Jonathan Demme

Ricki (Meryl Streep) is the lead singer of this typica band, her partner in the band Greg (Ricky Springfield) is also her long time lover. Ricki is a cash register in a local supermarket with the bucolic images of new trends (produce, gluten tofu and etc) Ricki is tired of that life, always questioning the most recent establishment. She also joke about the current president with the keyboard player.

At this point we see a woman living a decadent world, she disapproved the life she is living but also who is ruling our institutions. A victim of 2008 financial crisis, she is disappointing of how we live.

To make matters worst, Ricki received the call from her ex husband Pete (Kevin Kline) who lives in Indianapolis with his new wife Maureen (Audra McDonald) and Ricki's tree kids who were raised by them when Ricki left for a more artistic life. Julie (Mamie Gummer) suicide attempt after discover that her husband cheat on her and also divorcing her.

Pete and Maureen are presented as the opposite of Ricki's life in Los Angeles, well established family, a cookie cutter house and with a very wealthy lifestyle. Julie re encounter with mom is not the most pleasant, because everyone blame Ricki for abandoning the family to pursue her dream in music.

The biggest conflict comes when Ricki reunited with her two sons Joshua and Adam who despise her mom for not been there and also they exclude her from important landmarks in their life, a marriage and been gay. The discussion turns ugly and that's when we discover that Ricki represents the past in American way of living. She voted for George W Bush Twice, she is homophobic but also is not the perfect mom.

Ricki and The Flash develop slowly, but also with several bumpy transitions. The film seems flat sometimes, some crucial moments don't have proper conclusion or definitive progress. We see characters that comes and go and we look for emotive moments to give closure. Even a character so powerful like Greg (Ricky Springfield) who to me represents Ricki conscience helping her to understand the problems in her life is not enough on screen to make us understand why Ricki is a failure as a mom who make mistakes and the need for a second chance.

The conclusion of the film is sort of circle that close with the family together while Ricki and the Flash plays together one last tune. Ricki defeat the establishment, the people who judge her for not been the perfect mom, but also for not care abut a cookie cutter life.

Ricki and The Flash was written by the famous screenwriter Diablo Cody