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I wish they explained why she was afraid of pointy objects.

From what I’ve heard, Chris was chosen because his speaking voice sounded close to Danny Elfman’s singing voice. He was probably trying to match Danny’s voice in his performance. It did blow my mind to see him Child’s Play this year.

Hugh Grant, for all his sweetness and "loyalty", was one-note. Every problem could be solved with enough application of money. I also wondered how long he had been dating Rebecca Ferguson. I thought he was married to her at first, not to Florence. (Although the marriage to Florence was probably not legitimate since she could never prove she had been divorced.) Also, why did she keep the name Jenkins even though she basically was separated after she got syphillis?

frick

Rich People Problems: The Movie We watched:

I think what I would have liked more is if the movie had been more from her point of view. In a way, this movie was more about St Clair and Cosme than her. Maybe they were trying to make her a more mysterious figure (i.e., interesting) but it didn't land for me. We never actually know how she felt. We would just get glimpses when she would let her guard down. Not only would we get a little more insight into what made her tick, but I think it would have been absolutely gut-wrenching if we were to witness the reveal of her lack of talent talent through her eyes. Like what if all the performances were performed as it had in her head on her death bed? And through her eyes, we would see her (apparently) killing it, and then the movie could change focus and we would realize the people aren't really cheering her on, but laughing at her. I'm not really sure if that would jibe with the how in real life she was aware she wasn't a great singer, but this movie wants to pretend she didn't know that until the very end either, so whatever.

I agree that it lost my interest the first time around,and I didn't make it through in one sitting. Yesterday, I watched it all and found the second viewing more enjoyable. I was reading the Wiki pages for her, Sinclair, and Cosmo, and I watched some interviews with the actors, and I think there's a lot there that could have been told, but wasn't. The movie doesn't quite live up to the richness of her story. It drops a lot of one-liners about her history, like how her father cut her out of the will and he taught piano to make ends meet (also her bit about playing for the President is true). But it could have also dropped in that her father absolutely refused to let her perform, and once he died her mother was slightly more lenient but kept a tight seal on who could see her, so she really didn't get a chance to perform in public until she was in her 60's. I think all of that would have made her a much more sympathetic figure in the film. Because of her histtory, I think she knew she was untalented, but she kept her performances closed to basically just close friends and supporters. I imagine many people fawned and faked around her, not necessarily for access to her will, but for future endowments. I agree that the film has us laughing at her at first, but I didn't feel that way the second time I watched it. I did feel like I sympathized with her love for music and performing, and the people around her who arguably just wanted to let her live out her fantasies. One can argue whether it's better to keep Florence sheltered from the truth or whether it would be more kind to be honest. ETA: I really enjoyed Meryl in this.

I'm learning a lot about celebrity relationships today because I didn't know this either.

Outsider music is an interesting phenomenon, and I dig some of it -- love me some Jandek -- but mostly it's people making music for themselves and then people enjoy it as a some sort of expression, not usually as "this is garbage, let's laugh at it." This movie would be much better if it tapped into her outsider-ness, instead of her being everyone's joke.

I wonder if this is one of those things where people are fascinated and find meaning in it that isn't there. If you've ever heard of The Shaggs, they have genuine fans. Frank Zappa, Kurt Cobain considered their album great even though it's objectively garbage. If they got together today, The Shaggs next album or tour would do some business. I wonder if Florence Foster Jenkins was Cole Porter's The Shaggs.

Off-Topic: I still can't believe it's Chris Sarandon doing Jack Skellington's speaking voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas. When I think of Chris I think of Prince Humperdink and the vocals don't match.

In case anyone is interested....

When I was a kid, my best friend's mother kept her ex-husband's last name. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's just easier than changing it again or maybe it was so it would be consistent with her kids' names. But, I get it for a celebrity. Susan Sarandon kept Chris' name. I think sometimes it's just the name you get known by and it's easier than trying to get everyone to recognize you by a different name...

I agree with this. There wasn't enough background as to why she was a "sensation" before the end. Wikipedia says Cole Porter was a frequent attendee of her performances so her surprise at the end of the movie is incorrect.

Maybe in a hundred years there will be a biopic about how William Hung sang "She Bangs" on American Idol that one time.

Time Magazine reviewed the real Florence Foster Jenkins

This is probably a similar point to Cameron and Tom's but basically, I just didn't care. There were some funny moments that made me laugh, but I think for a biopic it just didn't feel like it mattered. Which I think is important for a biopic. I don't know enough about Jenkins, but I think you could make a biopic of her that at least alluded to history or metaphorically related to today somehow. But instead it was just sort of "here's this lady, and a thing she did."

I gagged when they revealed the bathtub potato salad

I wondered if it was because if people were nice to her, she would add them to her will? Her will at the end looked reaaaally thick. Overall, it was a fine enough movie, I guess, but none of the emotional punches landed on me. And this is the first movie we covered where I'm straight up "no thanks" to the movie soundtrack.

My problem is that the movie goes on way too long. It feels like it really only has a couple things to do. Once you've heard her sing, it doesn't really change. It's a different audience but it's the same reveal...again. The only real change after "lol she's terrible... can you believe it?" is pushing just how sweet Hugh Grant is by going this distance for her. I quite like the buildup to her reveal. I like the emotional bits at the end. But that's maybe an hour of movie and this is nearly two hours. I know you need to have a middle section but could it have been shorter?

I think my biggest issue with this movie - and as a fan of HDTGM, MST3K, And Rifftrax, I recognize the hypocrisy of what I’m about to say - is that it felt like it wanted you to laugh *at* Jenkins. There was almost a cruelty in that it was basically presented as buffoonery. But then, without warning, it wanted you to suddenly sympathize with her - which never felt wholly earned. Also, I never got why people seemed to genuinely like her. Like, in a MST3K way, I got why the soldiers ended up digging it, but not the people at the Verdi Club. Things are hinted at (e.g. pretension of bourgeois, deafness of the audience, etc), but the movie never really settles on anything. And maybe that was the point. Maybe the writer was like, “I don’t really know,” but I felt it kind of weak not to at least speculate. And since it doesn’t commit to anything, in my opinion, the movie lacks a strong point of view. Orherwise, it was enjoyable, just not entirely satisfying.

I'm OK with that. I'm a big Rosalind Russell fan.

You are all invited to my pirate party ps: some good eps this week edit I was going to wait until next week and then post a bunch of pirate gifs, but after I posted this I forgot why . There will probably be no pirate party

Angela Lansbury's still kicking! She was touring 'Blithe Spirit' as recently as last year. She'll outlive us all.