Dear Meryl Streep,

Please take me seriously when I plead with you to go on tour with your Ricki and the Flash band. The way you guys work together and perform so enthusiastically is truly magical. Thanks for choosing those great rock-and-roll numbers that you and Rick Springfield share with viewers in this wonderful film.

The only thing I would enjoy more than seeing your group in a live performance would be a Ricki and the Flash prequel showing how your character became interested in being a rock-and-roll singer, how you and your husband met and married each other and then got divorced. Of course, you would probably have to cast younger actors in the prequel, and it might be difficult to find ones as talented as you and Kevin Kline. Both of you are completely believable as estranged spouses with such different personalities that I couldn’t help wondering how they ever got together in the first place. But it’s easy to understand their breakup.  This film does a great job describing the “family vs. profession” problems a dedicated artist faces, especially if the artist is a woman.

Ricki and the Flash movie impressed me so much that I wrote the following poem about it. 

Yes, Ricki loves her rock and roll.

It clear to see it’s in her soul.

Does she care much for funds and fame?

Not really, folks. She’s not to blame.

Her heart shines through in all her songs.

Singing them is where she belongs.

And yet she goes back home to try

and help her daughter not to cry.

Long estranged from her ex and kids,

Ricki’s efforts go on the skids.

Will she succeed and make amends?

Is that the way the story ends?

Not to worry. This film is rare –

and Meryl Streep beyond compare!

Please pass along my compliments to your daughter, Mamie Gummer, who gives a very strong performance as Ricki’s depressed daughter. She projects such an amazing range of emotion in this difficult key role. Her visit to the beauty salon with Ricki is priceless! Kudos also to Audra McDonald for her lovely understated turn as a caring stepmother as well as to director Jonathan Demme for his sensitive direction and to  writer Diablo Cody for her thoughtful screenplay.

Respectfully,

Betty Jo Tucker 

(Ricki and the Flash is released by Sony Pictures and rated “PG-13” for thematic material, brief drug content, sexuality and language.)

For more information about Ricki and the Flash, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.

Listen to "Meryl Streep: Her Films & Performances" on BlogTalkRadio on Tuesday, August 25, 2015. An archived segment will also be available. LINK:  Click here.