Ricki, as a young woman, left her family to follow her dream of becoming a rock and roll singer. When she is called home during a family crisis she realizes how her absence has affected the lives of her children.

Meryl Streep, as always, plays the part perfectly. Even more impressive is that she learned to play the guitar for the part and did all her own singing. Julie, Ricki’s troubled daughter, is played by her real-life daughter Mamie Gummer.

Although I know most of The Beach Boy hits, I wouldn’t call myself a fan. I didn’t know anything about Brian Wilson’s disappearance from the music scene or the controversy surrounding him. I was able to see The Beach Boys perform at an Oracle conference I attended in San Diego a number of years ago, after Brian got back on track.

The movie was interesting even without knowing the back story. Both of the actors playing the part of Brian Wilson were excellent. The younger version was quite believable as a musical genius, and the older version (played by John Cusack) was also believable as a man suffering from, albeit a misdiagnosed, paranoid schizophrenia.

This film had two hits against it before we even got to the theatre. I read and loved the book and that generally means I’m not going to enjoy the movie quite as much. Strike two was Julianne Moore; she played the part of Alice and I’m not a fan.

I have to take back my trepidations on both counts. The movie was great and Julianne Moore deserved the Academy Award. There was a lot in the film that I don’t remember from the book, but the story was well told all the way through. Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart were a surprise; I don’t think I ever bothered to see who the supporting actors in the film were.

What would you do if you could either save a co-workers job or receive a very large bonus? Sandra’s co-workers have chosen the bonus, but a second round of voting may give her a chance. Over the course of a Saturday and Sunday Sandra visits each of her colleagues asking them to save her job. When the final vote comes in Sandra is one vote short of a majority but her boss tells her that she can get her job back in a few months if he doesn’t renew a worker’s contract. What will Sandra do now?