“It is a rare occurrence that I don’t see a trailer for a major release before it’s out. No matter, Florence Foster Jenkins had me at Meryl Streep. Is there a limit to how many times on this blog I can say that I adore that woman, because I really do.
The real life Mrs Jenkins was a New York socialite back during the 40s (I think) who loved music more than anything in the world. She especially loved singing, but unfortunately wasn’t very good at it. That didn’t stop her from performing at large concerts in front of her supportive and adoring friends and community.
It’s actually probably a good thing that I didn’t see the trailer, so that I could experience Meryl’s “”singing”” for the first time in the movie for full effect. It’s truly something special. I don’t want to bust out with the usual gushing over her, so suffice it to say that this film is as worthy of praise as any other of her performances. This one just happens to be on the comedic side, which I always find to be such a treat to watch her in.
It’s not all about Meryl though. Well, it is, but she’s got some strong supports. Her devoted husband is played by a previously semi-retired Hugh Grant, in what should rank among his career best. I’ll admit, I never really cared for him before, combination of him always doing rom-comms and coming off as too arrogant, but here he was divine. I finally understood that British charm he’s typically loved for.
We’ve also got Simon Helberg as the very un-Wolowitz like accompanist for Mrs Jenkins. His character is the new one in this world, so we experience much of the absurdity from his perspective. Helberg is quite an excellent character actor, so it’s great to finally see him stretch those acting muscles in a high profile film. Seriously, good for him.
Yeah, so just a fun and upbeat comedy that was thoroughly enjoyable. Sometimes you just need that. Sometimes you didn’t even realize you did.
Florence Foster Jenkins – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”