Despite the ad campaign, which left me really wondering why I was planning on seeing this, this is a really strong character study flick-- from the terrific script by Cody (her least "showy" dialogue to date) to Demme's always surehanded direction to the myriad of great performances here. It's not a surprise that people like Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Audra McDonald do really nice work, but Mamie Gummer really does steal every scene from her mom, in a performance that could've been cartoonish but feels really nuanced.... and Rick Springfield may be the MVP, in a really warm and generous performance as the man deeply in love with Ricki, warts and all.

Strong recommendation here. Nothing truly transcendent or anything, just old-fashioned storytelling with good characters, good dialogue, and a feel-good ending. Definitely a good date night selection.

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