While it’s too early to determine if Meryl Streep will get nominated for her role in Ricki and the Flash , the trailer does show promise for what could be another great performance from the three-time Oscar winner.
Yesterday, Sony Pictures unveiled the first official trailer for Ricki and the Flash , which is scheduled to open in theaters on August 7. Streep is not the only Oscar winner involved with the project. Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme helmed the project, and Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody penned the screenplay.
Ricki and the Flash has the 65-year-old actress playing Ricki Randazzo, the lead singer of a rock band who gave up on her family to pursue her music career. One day, Ricki’s ex-husband (played by Kevin Kline) calls her to say that their daughter (played by Streep’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer) is going through a divorce. While she may be estranged from her family, Ricki decides to put her dream of stardom on hold so she can make things right with them.
Ricki and the Flash also stars real-life rock star Rick Springfield as a member of the band, who develops an interest in Ricki’s daughter, as well as Sebastian Stan, who plays the son of Ricki.
Back in April, Demme told Entertainment Weekly that the film will feature covers of popular songs such as Tom Petty’s “American Girl’ and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which Streep and the other actors performed themselves.
“We didn’t use playback. We’re not sweetening it up on the soundtrack. It’s performance! I have to say with our band—I shouldn’t say it—but I want to say what I feel in my heart—Ricki and the Flash blow away every original.”
Gummer, whose first acting role was alongside her mother in Heartburn when she was just 18-months-old, told Entertainment Weekly that Streep gave her a good indication that she wanted to have her in Ricki and the Flash , and she literally didn’t have to say anything to get her to sign on.
“I was sitting at home, she came by, wordlessly dropped the script and walked away.”
As fans know, Streep is no stranger to singing. She was just recently nominated for her performance in Into the Woods , and she was also a lead in Mamma Mia . Gummer said one of the reasons her mom took the lead role in Ricki and the Flash is so she could sing.
“She loves, loves, loves to sing. Loves it more than almost anything. She in part did this so she’d have permission to sing — and I couldn’t tell her to shut up!”
[Image credit: Sony Pictures via Awards and Such ]