
Simon Helberg, Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant star in 'Florence Foster Jenkins,' the true story of the world's worst opera singer.
Paramount Pictures will re-release the critically-acclaimed crowd-pleaser Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg and directed by Stephen Frears, in select theaters December 2.
The film’s stars have been praised for their performances from critics and awards groups alike – Streep will receive the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the 2017 Golden Globes, Grant recently won the Hollywood Supporting Actor award at the Hollywood Film Awards and Helberg will receive the Virtuosos Award from the Santa Barbara Film Festival recognizing his outstanding breakout performance in the film.
The movie will play in Boston at the Boston Commons and AMC Methuen 20; in Chicago at the AMC River East 21 and the AMC Dine-In Theatres Yorktown; in Dallas at the AMC Grapevine Mills 30 and the AMC Stonebriar 24; in Los Angeles at the AMC Burbank Town Center 8, AMC Orange 30, and the AMC Loews Broadway; in New York at the AMC Empire 25 and the AMC Loews Stony Brook 17; in Philadelphia at the AMC Neshaminy 24 and the AMC Hamilton 24; in San Francisco at the AMC Van Ness 14 and AMC Mercado 20; in Seattle at the AMC Loews Alderwood Mall 16 and the AMC Southcenter 16; and in Washington, D.C. at the AMC Hoffman Center 22 and AMC Loews Rio Cinemas 18.
Based on the incredible true story, Florence Foster Jenkins stars 3-time Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep as the legendary heiress and socialite who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The voice she heard in head was beautiful, but to everyone else it was hilariously awful. Her “husband” and manager, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), an aristocratic English actor, was determined to protect his beloved Florence from the truth. But when Florence decided to give a public concert at Carnegie Hall, St. Clair knew he faced his greatest challenge.
Originally released in August, the film has grossed $27 million to date and will be released on DVD December 13. Paramount Pictures, Pathé and BBC Films present with the participation of Canal+ and Ciné a Qwerty Films production. Florence Foster Jenkins was directed by Stephen Frears and written by Nicholas Martin. The producers are Michael Kuhn and Tracey Seaward and executive producers are Cameron McCracken, Christine Langan and Malcolm Ritchie.
What the critics said:
“A comic lark that packs a satisfying emotional wallop and continues the balls-to-the-wall career victory lap Meryl Streep has been on since turning 60 years old seven years ago.” – Oliver Jones, New York Observer
“…the triumph of director Stephen Frears’ portrait of the performer, who sadly hit the wall of her own talent long before her passion ran dry, is that it never chooses…one pat answer to sum up the ultimate meaning of her career.” – Violet LeVoit, AllMovie
“Here’s a sentence both deliciously implausible and totally true: Meryl Streep nearly has her own movie stolen from her by a cast member from The Big Bang Theory.” – Allison Shoemaker, Consequence of Sound
“It’s a credit to Streep, who must be commended for singing badly with such utter conviction, that Florence is never reduced to a tragic figure.” – J.R. Kinnard, PopMatters
“Florence Foster Jenkins will strike a chord with those looking for relief in the form of originality, top-tier acting and amazingly godawful singing.” – Susan Wloszczyna, RogerEbert.com
“Director Frears maintains a quick, frolicsome tone right up until the moment Florence receives her coup de grace, which he delivers with a bold, simple and unexpected shot that’s something of a masterstroke.” – Tom Gliatto, People Magazine
“A damn fine and funny film. Streep could be looking at her 20th Oscar nomination. It’s a whole new direction for Grant. And Helberg is irresistible.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“A real-life screwball comedy with a solid gold cast. Grant may have just sealed his first Oscar nomination.” – Rafer Guzman, Newsday
“It would be easy to mine Jenkins’ story for silly farce and 1940s set pieces and let it coast from there, but director Stephen Frears is too kind, and too nuanced, to do that.” – Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
“It’s a pleasure seeing Grant in a great part again, playing the sort of almost-cad he’s best at. And Streep – who, in real life, can belt anything from Broadway to Bruce – is clearly having a ball singing badly.” – Stephen Whitty, New York Daily News
About Stephen Frears
In addition to Florence Foster Jenkins, he has directed My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), which was one of Daniel Day-Lewis’ earliest roles; Dangerous Liaisons (1988), which was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Glenn Close) and Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Pfeiffer); The Grifters (1990), which garnered four Oscar nominations including Best Actress (Anjelica Huston) and Best Supporting Actress (Annette Bening); High Fidelity (2000), in which he reteamed with his co-star from The Grifters, John Cusack; The Queen (2006), for which Helen Mirren won the Best Actress Oscar; and Philomena (2013), which was nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress (Judi Dench). He has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Director for The Grifters and The Queen. Frears was also nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight (2014)
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc. and Paramount Studio Group.
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