Meryl Streep has proven to be so good at everything she does that imagining her as someone who is an utter failure is difficult. That's what we'll be counted on to do with Stephen Frears' Florence Foster Jenkins in which she plays the titular socialite who fancied herself a great opera singer. Boy, was she wrong.
The film is based on the true story of Jenkins, who was sheltered from criticism by her husband and manager, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), and even encouraged her to take her "talent" to a wider audience. Everything comes to a head when she's book for a show at Carnegie Hall, one that everyone in attendance knows will be a disaster. Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Helberg, and Nina Arianda co-star.
This is the second biopic Frears will drop this year after the disappointing Lance Armstrong film, The Program. Hopefully this will be a decent bounce back for him as it should tap into the same audience that liked his work on Philomena and The Queen. Florence Foster Jenkins opens August 12th.
