I went to see the movie Florence Foster Jenkins after the urgent instance of my friend this week. She loved it so much, I had to see what all the hype was about. Florence Foster Jenkins is based on the true story of a New York heiress who dreams of being an opera singer despite not being able to carry a tune. It’s one of those movies where you leave feeling good and it’s not because you can sing better than Florence.
Meryl Streep does an excellent job at playing Florence. Her costumes, quirky facial expressions and idiosyncracies will make you smile. Although her musical performances are quite comical Florence has a way of capturing your heart. To say she can’t carry a tune is putting things mildly. Below is a picture of the real Florence Foster and a sample performance.
In Florence’s world her singing is bravissimo. Florence’s husband St. Clair Bayfield played by Hugh Grant encourages and enables her singing aspirations. My favorite acting performance is by Simon Helberg from The Big Bang Theory who plays Florence’s accompanist. The lengths these two characters go to keeping Florence happy and shielding her from criticism is remarkable.
Consequently Florence’s wealth enabled her to perform at Carnegie Hall, but money could not buy her vocal talent. Music mattered to Florence and she was a huge supporter of the musical community. Her husband supported her musical ambitions and played a big role in feeding her ego. It’s apparent he loved her and was very devoted to keeping her happy. Anyone who could listen to Florence sing and keep a straight face deserves a medal. Love is apparently not only blind, but deaf.
I’m not very good at remembering movie lines, but there was a line in the movie that really stuck with me.
Be like Florence and do things for the love of doing them. Don’t let the critics get you down. A little delusion always helps as well.
Have a great weekend and if you’re headed to the theaters Florence Foster Jenkins gets a HUGE thumbs up in my book. After her performance as Florence, I have a feeling Meryl Streep will be adding another Oscar to her shelf. Have you seen any good movies lately? Please share in the comments.
Can’t wait to see it and love the quote!!
Haven’t seen any good movies in the theater lately but just saw Brooklyn on DVD and liked it a lot.
I liked Brooklyn as well Denise. I think you’ll love Florence Foster Jenkins.
I rarely see movies in the theater anymore. I saw the ads for this and thought it looked funny and good. It is a good message, because we have sort of fallen into a culture that tells us we should only do what we are “good at.” I struggled with this myself over the weekend playing golf – at which I am very bad. I think this is sort of sad, because life is meant to be lived.
Well said Seana! Keep playing golf if you enjoy it 🙂
Great movie!!! Florence’s accompanist was hysterical:)