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 8 wins & 39 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:

Every voice deserves to be heard.

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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:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK

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

Costume designer Consolata Boyle had to add a few pounds of padding to Streep's slight frame in order to recreate Jenkins' more matronly outline.

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Goofs

After a weekend of golf, St. Clair and Kathleen are in a restaurant. St. Clair holds a cigarette in his left hand. The cigarette moves from his lap to close to his face, and back to his lap.

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Quotes

[First lines]
St Clair Bayfield: "Swounds I should take it, for it cannot be but I *am* pigeon-livered and lack gall to make oppression bitter, or ere this I should have fatted all the region kites with this slave's offal. Boody, bawdy villain! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! O vengeance!"
[applause, takes a bow]
St Clair Bayfield: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. That was, of course, a speech of Hamlet's from a play I was lucky enough to perform in on several occasions, though ...

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Connections

References Three Is a Family (1944)

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Soundtracks

The Musical Snuff Box
Written by Anatol Liadov (as Anatoly Liadov)
Performed by Florence Foster Jenkins
Licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

User Reviews

Good movies are still being made folks

This one pleasantly surprised me. Meryl Streep does a nice job as the real-life untalented Ms. Jenkins, who is surrounded by people who just want to make her happy. She hires a pianist (Simon Helberg, one of the geeks from "The Big Bang Theory") but no one will tell her how bad she is, least of all her husband, played by Hugh Grant. Inspired by the boys fighting in WW II, she cuts a record, then manages to book a concert at Carnegie Hall for the troops. (One flaw during the concert - the actress who plays Tallulah Bankhead is way too good-looking to be believable as the actual Bankhead.)

Streep pulls off the role very well. I found myself laughing at some of the voice rehearsals, but feeling a twinge of sorrow as this woman was trying to pursue a dream seemingly beyond her reach. Helberg is quirky as her pianist, who realizes she stinks, but comes around to supporting her. The big surprise for me was the performance of Hugh Grant. Just watch his eyes and you will see his every emotion, from his affection for Streep (despite his having an affair), his desire to make her happy, and his anguish as he watches her bomb. His performance is the most impressive.

Solid performances, good script, laugh-out-loud moments, and tender scenes. Good movies are still being made, folks.