Early on in "Ricki and the Flash," Ricki (Meryl Streep) gets a call that disarms her before she's even decided to pick it up. With smoky eyes, braided rocker hair and a swagger that suggests skin that's as thick as her leather pants, this doesn't seem like a woman who would back down from a challenge. She hesitates more than once to pick it up — you get the sense that she's either become accustomed to being scolded by the voice on the other end of the line, or has just given up on dealing with that other life completely.