Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. We took Mattie to San Diego and when he saw these adorable bicycle surreys, he wanted the opportunity to ride on one. We figured how difficult could that be? Well did we ever find out! These things are impossible to move! But we did it and I am not sure what Mattie found more entertaining.... the sights we passed while bicycle riding or our commentary about how hard it was to navigate this thing!
Quote of the day: It is never too late to be what you might have been. ~ George Eliot
It was over 96 degrees outside today and with intense heat
and sun. Our original intention was to visit and walk around the Descanso
Gardens. I haven't been to these Gardens since Mattie was alive. However, given
the weather, we made other plans. We went to the movies. For those of you who
know we well, then you know I rarely go to the movies. There are many reasons
for this. One of which is I typically do not like the content of the movies
playing, but the other issue is I do not like being in a dark space, crowded
with people, that have loud sounds.
It's been a roller-coaster ride for Ricki Rendazzo (Meryl
Streep), a one-time wife and mother of three who left her family behind to
follow her dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom in California. Now, the singer and
guitarist must face the music when she returns home to Indiana to reconnect
with ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline), troubled daughter Julie, engaged son Josh
and younger son Adam. Filled with regret, Ricki hopes to find redemption for
all of the bad choices that she made in the past.
There was a lot that could intrigue a movie goer to this movie. First of all, we have the music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Which Meryl Streep does a great job with.... if you don't know this, Meryl Streep can sing and performs in live theatre, most recently in her in the Broadway show, Into the Woods. Second the woman who plays her daughter in the movie, is also her daughter in real life. So there is a chemistry between them that shines through in the movie.
In the movie, her daughter is dealing with a bitter divorce and from that is suffering from depression and an attempted suicide. Anyone who has experienced depression and its ramifications knows what this feels like and just how important it is to have someone with you who can help support you out and through it, if it is possible. Sometimes it isn't always possible. But the bond and connection between two women in this movie, and the love of music capture the moviegoer. If you look at the NY Times review of the movie below, they take issue with the fact that the director of the movie did not provide dialogue and substance around the fact that there was a potential race issue in the movie. Meryl Streep's ex-husband in the movie remarries, and he marries an African American woman. This woman in essence raises Meryl Streep's children as she abandoned her family to have a music career. The NY Times critic felt the racial issues and tensions between these two women needed to be explored.
I personally am happy that the director left the movie just as it was. I do not think this movie was about race, it is was being a woman, the struggles of motherhood, and having a female identity. This is a universal WOMAN issue which I think was explored well, and compounding it was racial tension would have taken away from the substance of what was being portrayed. So I really disagree with The NY Times. I came away from this movie really understanding each character's struggles, feelings, perspective, and by the end how they all developed a tolerance and appreciation for one another. To me that is a great success and as uplifting as one can get.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/movies/review-ricki-and-the-flash-puts-meryl-streep-behind-a-telecaster.html?referrer=google_kp&_r=0
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