The Oscars ought to be renamed the Meryls. As the most nominated actor in the Golden Globe and Academy Award history, Meryl Streep has the kind of track record that could inspire sweeping statements. If she had five movies releasing in one year, she’d probably take up all five nomination slots. Let’s just say it. Meryl Streep is the Muhammad Ali of cinema.So, it’s more or less a given that her latest film “Ricki and The Flash” that releases this month, is going to move her career-spanning count of 405 award nominations and 151 wins up by a few more notches. The film has other heavyweight credentials, in the form of Jonathan Demme as director and Diablo Cody as writer. Demme, who is best known for directing “The Silence of the Lambs” in 1991 and “Philadelphia” in 1993, is also credited with practically creating the ‘concert film’. His music documentaries on the American rock band Talking Heads (“Stop Making Sense”, 1984), Neil Young (“Neil Young: Heart of Gold”, “Neil Young Trunk Show”, “Neil Young Journeys”, 2006-2012), videos for Bruce Springsteen and New Order, and an upcoming documentary on Justin Timberlake’s recent tour, make him just the man to direct Streep as an ageing rock singer, especially given Demme’s knack for composition and capturing nuance. Screenwriter Cody, of “Juno” and “Young Adult” fame, is also a practiced hand at writing about unapologetic women going it alone, and she says she created the character of Ricki with Streep in mind.In this comedy drama, Ricki is a woman who leaves a husband and three children behind in the pursuit of a rock and roll career. Her abandonment of her family leaves scars on each of the members, but when her eldest daughter Julie’s marriage breaks down, Ricki’s ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline) asks her to return to try and help their depressed daughter. Streep’s real life daughter Mamie Gummer plays the role of Julie, and this is bound to add another dimension to the on-screen chemistry between the related characters. Australian musician Rick Springfield plays Streep’s boyfriend Greg in the film.Streep is said to have spent a few months honing her guitar-playing skills for the role, having already shown her singing chops in earlier films “Mamma Mia” and “Into the Woods”. The fact that even last year’s yawn-inducing fantasy musical “Into the Woods” garnered Streep yet another nomination is proof that the 66-year-old actress has a secret, mystical power that is bound to one day just break the Hollywood awards system.Despite some clichés the movie looks to rely on, “Ricki and The Flash” holds a lot of promise. Already showing in the US, the film is set to release in India on August 28, and other countries by early September. Follow @ARTINFOIndia
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