THE underpinnings of this family drama include some notable award winners – three Oscars to Meryl Streep, one to writer Diablo Cody, one to director Jonathan Demme.

Together, what they deliver in “Ricki and the Flash” may not match the heights of their past fame and glory, but the idea of acting royalty Streep playing an ageing rock musician does invite a tad of curiosity.

Streep plays Linda, divorced from Pete (Kevin Kline) who’s now married to Maureen who brought up Linda’s two sons and daughter in the two and more decades since Linda left home, changed her name to Ricki, and formed a band and a relationship with guitarist Greg (Rick Springfield).

The Flash is popular with the regulars at a neighbourhood tavern, but big-time fame has never called them. They may have a regular gig but Ricki works as a checkout chick to pay the bills.

Ricki goes to Indianapolis to sort out the major emotional issues arising after her son-in-law abandons her daughter Julie (played by Streep’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer).

The film’s meaty-enough plot explores domestic turmoil exacerbated by Ricki’s strongly individualistic attitudes combined with lack of domestic skills and the resentments still festering among the family she abandoned.

There’s more to it than just those elements. One of her sons is gay. The other is engaged but keeping it secret. Julie is a bundle of anxieties. Demme and Cody depict the complexities of those elements with sensitivity combined with a well-balanced view of American social classes.

“Ricki and the Flash” presents yet another side of Streep’s multifaceted performance skills. That lady rocks. The songs are infectious.

At all cinemas