Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Nicholas Martin

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Florence Foster Jenkins
Hugh Grant	...	St Clair Bayfield
Simon Helberg	...	Cosmé McMoon
Rebecca Ferguson	...	Kathleen
Nina Arianda	...	Agnes Stark
Stanley Townsend	...	Phineas Stark
Allan Corduner	...	John Totten
Christian McKay	...	Earl Wilson
David Haig	...	Carlo Edwards
John Sessions	...	Dr. Hermann
Brid Brennan	...	Kitty
John Kavanagh	...	Arturo Toscanini
Pat Starr	...	Mrs Vanderbilt
Maggie Steed	...	Mrs James O'Flaherty
Thelma Barlow	...	Mrs Oscar Garmunder

Storyline

Florence Foster Jenkins, an heiress from NYC, always wanted to be a concert pianist and play Carnegie Hall. An injury in her youth deterred that dream, so she sets out to sing her way to Carnegie Hall, knowing the only way to get there would be, "Practice, practice, practice". Her husband supports her venture, and Florence Foster Jenkins' performance at Carnegie Hall becomes a truly historic event.

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Plot Keywords:

bad singing | carnegie hall | singing out of tune | concert | heiress | 

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Taglines:

The inspiring true story of the world's worst singer.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive material.

Details

Official Sites:

KinoPoisk.ru (Russian) Official site

Country:

UK France

Language:

English German Italian Russian

Release Date:

12 August 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Florence

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,601,313, 12 August 2016, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$27,370,107, 23 October 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,080,000, 12 August 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Qwerty Films, Pathé Pictures International, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jenkins handled distribution of the popular tickets herself, to prevent professional critics from attending.

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Goofs

The sailors in the audience at Carnegie Hall would never have worn their hats during the performance. Men removed their hats indoors.

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Quotes

Florence Foster Jenkins: Now, I must warn you, I work very hard. I study an hour every day. Sometimes two. And my father didn't leave me as much money as everybody thinks, so I couldn't pay you more than a hundred and fifty.
Cosmé McMoon: A month?
Florence Foster Jenkins: A week. I'm not destitute!

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Connections

Edited into Hollywood Express: Episode #14.34 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Der Hölle Rache Kocht in Meinem Herzen (Queen of the Night's Aria)
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Meryl Streep & Simon Helberg
Arranged by Terry Davies

User Reviews

If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.

There's something rather wonderful about people who manage to do things incredibly badly - William MacGonagall, the world's worst poet, and Eddie the Eagle Edwards, the world's worst ski-jumper, spring to mind; but Florence Foster Jenkins is in the pantheon as the world's worst singer. I have a CD of the few recordings she made, and not the least remarkable aspect of Meryl Streep's performance is that she superbly captures La Jenkins' extraordinary singing voice. This, however, is only one part of a beautiful performance, in which Streep gives us a touchingly vulnerable Jenkins. I saw this film expecting to laugh - and indeed there are some great comic moments. What I didn't expect, however, was to find myself sympathising with the title character so much, to the extent that I found myself rooting for her - not to give a magnificent recital, but at least to BELIEVE that she had. Hugh Grant plays Jenkins' sort-of husband (they never actually married in real life, though the film implies that they did) and manager. It's a fine performance, and he's lost none of his ease with comic scenes. He also has some heartwarmingly touching scenes in which he gives Jenkins the (platonic) love she is so desperate for, and when he tries to shield her from the truth. Even so, I was never quite sure how to reconcile this side of his character with the double-life he leads without Jenkins' knowledge. Simon Helberg is excellent as Jenkins' much put-upon accompanist, and Nina Arianda provides a good turn as a gold-digger who displays some unexpected heart. Highly recommended.