Movie Voodoo with Chris Hembury: Foster Florence Jenkins Film Review

Foster Florence Jenkins (2016)***

Brit Director Stephen Frears directs true life comedy drama about the 40’s Singer Foster Florence Jenkins starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helburg.

In a rush?

Short Version....

A fantastic true life story with strong performances lead by the mighty Streep directed with confidence in Brit Director Frears like Florence there passion all round, however also like Florence your not entirely sure how you feel after the show.

But great to see stories like this being told to thousands that might have never have heard of Jenkins otherwise. Despite the fact Florence can’t sing she still gets a good review from me.

Full Review

Foster Florence Jenkins is a wealthy, eccentric, elderly, New York socialite in whose great passion is that of the arts, in particularly MUSIC!

Her passion for music really is her life where she frequents, sponsors and even performs in theatre shows produced by her. The only problem with Jenkins’s ambitions to be a singer is that she can’t sing…This is the punch line of the film.

Her right hand man is her Husband St Clair, Suave and younger (Hugh Grant) he is by all means her manager. He coordinates her day, her life, her staff and PR. This is very important as Jenkins inner circle are well aware of the fact that Jenkins's passion far outweighs her ability to perform but it’s that passion that propels all around to hide her from her own limitations… that and everyone around her is well paid.

This is also the moral crux of the story - Are people sticking with her because she pays them? Or is there genuine love for her?

For instance Carlo Edwards (played by Brit David Haig sporting his nice Hugh Laurie inspired American Accent) is a famous conductor employed to trains Jenkins to sing. He is more than aware she is awful, but takes her money and assures her she is tremendous. This would be sweet to a child but rather cruel to a delusional senior.

This is where the comedy moves to drama after the initial shock comedy factor of her being awful it becomes increasingly unsure whether we are to keep laughing laugh at her because it’s funny or not as it’s mocking an elderly lady.

The morality of her inner circle is most tied to her Husband St Clair where his motives can be harder to read then others.

On paper he is in it for the money, he looks after her during the day but by night he disappears into his apartment across the city paid for by Jenkins where he has his secret girlfriend living with him, where they have big parties and booze ups to which Jenkins is blissfully unaware.

This betrayal of Jenkins's generosity is further made more sad as when learn her health is very bad indeed.

The story is propelled by the looming date of a massive theatre performance that Jenkins has booked for herself to sing Oprah at.

Here after twenty five years of her being hidden from the fact she can’t sing, she is about to unknowingly exposes her lack of talents to the thousands where it will become a known and publicly embarrassing fact that could and most likely will destroy her.

You really don’t know whether to laugh or cry and that’s kind of the point where at times there is an almost uncomfortable vibe in the narrative making it a little unsure of where we are meant to plant our emotions.

Throw in the fact Jenkins is elderly, generous, in very bad health and purely has good sweet intentions. After all the theatre performance is all about wanting to entertain WW2 soldiers potential with post traumatic stress. This makes it a more awful proposal that the benefactor should be publicly berated.

However when characters are pushed to the edge true colours unfold where St Claire becomes more caring then we would have original presumed showing that even if he doesn’t have physical affections for Jenkins he does have a protective deep love for her, a love also felt by her newly appointed quirky pianist (played by scene stealing quirkiness by TV’s Big Bang Theories’ Simon Helberg) who both most stand by her or she will fall.

The braveness of telling this story is fantastic because as the writer said you couldn’t make it up! The pitch alone is not the thing of box office gold but how joyous to see everyone involved in a heart warming story of one women just simply following the biggest joy in her life.

Florence Forster Jenkins is a well acted and passionate film is let down by an almost uneven level in emotions with the central narrative. Where as a comedy drama such as Little Voice kept the first half laugh out loud then finally moved into the Dramatic conclusion here the minute she sings the joke is revealed and it is funny. However Streep’s excellent performance brings these laughs but also exposes the sad interior of a woman who has been used her and betrayed in her life but still thinks of others. It’s this ever so effective characterisation that evokes the drama but with an untimely rushed conclusion the story certainly ends like Jenkins had sang on slightly depressing note.