DVD Review: Florence Foster Jenkins

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Sing.

Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) is New York heiress who has big dreams of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible voice. She of course, doesn't realize she's terrible. Her husband, St Clair (Hugh Grant) enables her by never telling her the truth, showering her with praise, and paying off their friends to do the same. They hire a meek pianist, Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) to accompany her as she tries once again to be a star.

There are so many things in this film that could come off as completely awful, St Clair being the biggest one. He and Florence don't sleep together, he has a girlfriend, he spends her money, but you can tell how much he loves her. That relationship could've been so gross but Grant plays Bayfield as protective and madly in love despite his "unconventional" relationship. Streep is amazing as always. We all know she has a lovely singing voice so it was probably fun for her to be able to screech like that. Florence, while a bit batty comes off as very endearing. 

The biggest surprise to me was Simon Helberg. I'm used to seeing him in The Big Bang Theory so it was nice to see him stretch his wings a bit and do all his own piano playing. He and Nina Arianda, playing fellow socialite Agnes were my favorites. 

I wish they would've elaborated on a few things, like why Flornece has this terrible fear of knives, but over all the film was so warm and sweet. It makes for a nice afternoon viewing.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "Those chairs are not for practical use" - St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant)

Comments

  1. s.January 28, 2017 at 8:04 AM

    I thought Grant and Helberg were both better than Streep. So thrilled Helberg got GG nomination for this, he is so talented and a nice guy. Shame Grant didn't get that Oscar nomination

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 28, 2017 at 8:42 PM

      I didn't like that they were campaigning Grant in supporting, that's kind of BS. I'm happy for Helberg too. I'm pretty sure I laughed when I saw his nomination, but after seeing his performance, I was wrong. I'm glad he got it.

      Delete
  2. Candice FrederickJanuary 28, 2017 at 1:23 PM

    interesting. I just assumed this was awful. It looks awful

    ReplyDelete
  3. BirgitJanuary 28, 2017 at 6:50 PM

    Interesting because I thought you wouldn't like it as much as you do. This makes me think that it is better than I initially thought. I shall give it a chance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 28, 2017 at 8:41 PM

      Yeah, I tend to gravitate towards darker movies, no idea why. This was lovely though.

      Delete
  4. RuthJanuary 29, 2017 at 7:18 PM

    Simon Helberg was a hoot in this! Never seen him before but he was definitely a scene stealer. I enjoyed this movie but it's so BS that Meryl Streep is nominated instead of Amy Adams for Arrival, ugh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 29, 2017 at 11:15 PM

      He's good in The Big Bang Theory, but he's very different here. I liked that.

      Agreed on Meryl over Amy. ugh.

      Delete
  5. keith71_98January 30, 2017 at 10:26 AM

    I've had a review written for this for weeks but still need to post it. I felt it was good, not great. I liked Streep's performance but it felt like something she has done before - big, showy eccentric characters. Definitely not worthy of an Oscar nod.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 30, 2017 at 9:16 PM

      Nope. Especially not over Rebecca Hall or Amy Adams.

      Delete
  6. DanielFebruary 2, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    SO glad you mentioned Nina Arianda. She is HILARIOUS in this. I really enjoyed the movie actually, right up until the end. It was just so weird that it was encouraging us to laugh at her for 98% of it, but then at the end implied that this was awful and that a bad review had a hand in her death. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 2, 2017 at 12:04 PM

      Yeah, that was weird. I expected a scene of that journalist being shamed for her death but that never came either.

      Delete

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