Florence Foster Jenkins on the whole isn’t exactly a memorable film in of itself but with yet another great performance by Meryl Streep, with honorable mentions to Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg, makes it at least a worthwhile watch if only to see the acting tour-de-force.
Florence Foster Jenkins
(2016)
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy
Paramount | PG13 – 111 min. – $29.99 | December 13, 2016
Date Published: 12/18/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Florence Foster Jenkins (MERYL STREEP) is a New York socialite who dreams of becoming a great opera singer. While the voice she hears in her head is beautiful, to everyone else it is hilariously awful. Her husband and biggest fan, St. Clair Bayfield (HUGH GRANT) is determined to protect his beloved Florence from the truth. But when Florence stages a huge concert at Carnegie Hall, he faces his greatest challenge to make sure her performance is a rousing success. Quick Hit Review: This is a well made, oft emotional rollercoaster drama-comedy that more excels thanks to yet another fantastic, and soon-to-be, Oscar-worthy performance (if not just a nomination) from Meryl Streep. It’s perhaps not her best one to date, which isn’t a surprise, but it’s probably her more nuanced one balancing both from-the-gut laughs to heart-warming drama in the span of two hours. Not to be completely outdone, Hugh Grant is great as her doting, if not imperfect, husband, showing his love with protecting her from an outside world that mocked her. Directed with class by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Queen), Florence Foster Jenkins tells a truly unique true story that I doubt many have heard of and does a fine job combining slapstick comedy with emotional drama, and sometimes the two get effectively crossed questioning how funny Jenkins’ actions are. I’m not sure what kind of staying power this drama/comedy has but with another fantastic performance by Streep, and I’d be remised if I didn’t mention Simon Helberg’s wonderful contribution as well, it’s well worth at least one viewing. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. Inside is a DVD Copy and redemption code for the Digital HD copy. “Ours is a Happy World” (5:01; HD) is a rundown on the plot and main character, Florence Foster Jenkins and includes interviews with members of the cast and crew. You don’t learn a whole lot and this is more Cliff’s Notes and made to advertise than inform. Designing the Look (3:43; HD) – This is a glimpse at the costume and production designs in re-creating 1940s New York in London. Florence Foster Jenkins World Premiere (1:58; HD) is some red carpet footage. Q&A with Meryl Streep (16:06; HD) – The legendary actress answers a variety of questions following a screening. Live at Carnegie Hall (10:09; HD) looks at the history of the historic theatre and includes several expert interviews including the archivist on Jenkins’ performance there. Deleted Scenes (6:08; HD) – There are four scenes cut down or excised. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Paramount releases Florence Foster Jenkins onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture, in keeping with some of the comedic moments, generally is bright while detail is sharp throughout and the transfer was clean, free of artifacting, aliasing and banding. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The movie comes with a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and for a movie that’s mostly dialogue mixed with on-screen music, it’s more than an adequate lossless track. Dialogue levels are clean and when the music does kick in, the front and rear channels show nice depth with a little boost from the LFE which is modest enough. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Overall, Florence Foster Jenkins on the whole isn’t exactly a memorable film in of itself but with yet another great performance by Meryl Streep, with honorable mentions to Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg, makes it at least a worthwhile watch if only to see the acting tour-de-force. The Blu-ray release offers good video and audio transfers though the features are a bit lacking. |