Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Meryl Streep secured her record-shattering twentieth Oscar nomination for this film and, I don't know what to say.
She embodies the role, a dying woman who adores music. She is a patron of the arts in 1944 New York City, excellent as Madam Florence Foster Jenkins tone-deaf to her own disastrous singing. While the film is supposed to be about her somehow inspiring people despite her obvious lack of talent, I found the film to be more about how protective her husband St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) goes about sheltering her from the truth, bribing critics and friends who attend her concerts and when a bad review is published, he goes to great lengths to bury the story, throwing the papers away in the trash. He is truly dedicated to her, and loves her greatly but isn't faithful to her. You see, Florence (in Streep's best scene) contracted syphilis on her wedding night with her first husband and now is dying a slow and probably painful death, thus her second marriage has never been consummated, so St. Clair has to seek that need elsewhere though his mistress leaves him before the film is over.
While Florence has an interesting life, I can't help but wonder if St. Clair was truly acting in Florence's best interests. Though she did have her fans, despite her horrid voice, she had just as many people who laughed at her. I wish she would have been told the truth and figured out some other way to fulfill her dreams. She was a talented pianist before the syphilis. And it is truly a shame that she was given that horrid disease and the medications to treat it had just as horrid side effects and her final performance, fulfilling her life long dream of singing at Carnegie Hall did indeed kill her. She died later that year, but the troops loved her and she did what she could to support them in return. While she was a wonderful and kind woman, withholding the truth did her no favors, only hurting more when she finally learned what some actually thought of her and all that extraordinary effort St. Clair put in was in vain.
The film also features an odd performance from The Big Bang Theory's Simon Helberg as Cosme McMoon, Florence's new pianist. His voice and speech patterns are just weird and timid. He both loves and is embarrassed by Florence.
Streep is great and somehow manages to sing horridly and make it realistic. She is both a strong and weak character who loves sandwiches and potato salad. (Another great scene is when she hosts a luncheon and the maid has a bathtub full of it.) She delivers another great performance and Grant is great support, in easily his best role to date. Grant is dedicated to her and will do anything for her, but alas, she cannot fulfill his needs, but no one else will ever mean as much to him as Florence. The film is also filled with great costumes and sets, but ultimately, the film failed to make an impact on me. I guess I'm getting harder to please in my old age. (I'm twenty-six.) Grade: B