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* JerkassHasAPoint: Yes, Earl Wilson, the CausticCritic from the ''New York Post'', probably shouldn't have written his scathing review of Florence's Carnegie Hall performance. But he's also a professional critic--it's his ''job'' to report on the music scene--and Florence, despite her sweet nature and passion for the art, ''can't sing.'' He couldn't have known that Florence would [[spoiler: read the review and ultimately die from the shock it brought to her system]]. Furthermore, there's an element of ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules at play: Wilson turns down a huge bribe to publish the review, which, in another movie, would be seen as a reflection of journalistic integrity.
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* TechnicianVsPerformer: ZigZagged. Florence is passionate about music, works hard at practicing, and loves to perform, but she is so GiftedlyBad that she just plain doesn't realize she has absolutely no technical skill whatsoever. Ultimately she succeeds because people enjoy her performances as {{Camp}} and because she's so good natured that nobody has the heart to tell her she's terrible.
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* AtTheOperaTonight: As a member of high society, Florence is a notable patron of the arts, and hosts The Verdi Club to promote operatic performances. However, more than just being in it for the prestige, she's shown to be a genuine music lover.
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* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Cosme is informed in no uncertain terms that the contents of Florence's leather satchel are never to be discussed or asked about. (It turns out to be [[spoiler: her will, which is revealed when she is moved by generosity and writes him into it]].) Also, nobody in Florence's circle ''dares'' even to hint to her that she just might possibly be anything less than a supremely gifted opera singer.
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* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: ElephantInTheLivingRoom:
** Cosme is informed in no uncertain terms that the contents of Florence's leather satchel are never to be discussed or asked about. (It turns out to be [[spoiler: her will, which is revealed when she is moved by generosity and writes him into it]].) )
** Also, nobody in Florence's circle ''dares'' even to hint to her that she just might possibly be anything less than a supremely gifted opera singer.
** Cosme is informed in no uncertain terms that the contents of Florence's leather satchel are never to be discussed or asked about. (It turns out to be [[spoiler: her will, which is revealed when she is moved by generosity and writes him into it]].
** Also, nobody in Florence's circle ''dares'' even to hint to her that she just might possibly be anything less than a supremely gifted opera singer.
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* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Cosme is informed in no uncertain terms that the contents of Florence's leather satchel are never to be discussed or asked about. (It turns out to be [[spoiler: her will, which is revealed when she is moved by generosity and writes him into it]].) Also, nobody in Florence's circle ''dares'' even to hint to her that she just might possibly be anything less than a supremely gifted opera singer.
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* GenreSavvy: Cosme lands the gig as Florence's accompanist by picking up on the fact that she doesn't like boisterous loud piano music. He plays a gentle Chopin nocturne, which charms Florence, then seals the deal by [[BlatantLies remarking]] that he knows the other pianists auditioning are "all rather heavy-handed."
* GrandDame: Florence, but she's played very sympathetically.
* HappilyMarried: At first sight it seems that St Clair and Florence are in an unhappy society marriage, sleeping in separate apartments and St Clair keeping a girlfriend on the side. As the story progresses we learn that [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery they have an understanding]] and a unique arrangement due to [[spoiler: Florence not wanting to infect St Clair with syphilis]] and they genuinely do dote on each other.
* HappilyMarried: At first sight it seems that St Clair and Florence are in an unhappy society marriage, sleeping in separate apartments and St Clair keeping a girlfriend on the side. As the story progresses we learn that [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery they have an understanding]] and a unique arrangement due to [[spoiler: Florence not wanting to infect St Clair with syphilis]] and they genuinely do dote on each other.
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* HollywoodToneDeaf: Florence is a straight example and this is TruthInTelevision. Partly for this reason, many assumed she was intentionally parodying bad opera singers.
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* HollywoodToneDeaf: Florence is a straight example and this is TruthInTelevision. Partly for this reason, many assumed she was intentionally parodying bad opera singers. Played absolutely straight by Creator/MerylStreep, whose performance is ''uncannily'' like Florence's actual voice. (One of her original recordings can be heard over the end credits for easy comparison.)
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* DramaticIrony: When Florence visits Cosme at his apartment, she tells him while talking about her relationship with St. Clair that during his attempted acting career she had to occasionally hide reviews from him, completely unaware St. Clair has to do the same for her singing.
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* DramaticIrony: When Florence visits Cosme at his apartment, she tells him while talking about her relationship with St. Clair that during his attempted acting career she had to occasionally hide bad reviews from him, completely unaware St. Clair has to do the same for her singing.
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* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Florence passes away, content in the fact that while she's ultimately a figure of mockery, she still accomplished her dream of performing Carnegie Hall and brought some degree of happiness to others]].
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and [[{{Camp}} genuinely taking pleasure in it]], in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and [[{{Camp}} genuinely taking pleasure in it]], in part because of Florence's charisma. Ironically, she was a genuinely good pianist, but her left hand is permanently damaged from syphilis (hence why she took up singing).
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* BaldWomen: Florence is bald as a result of her syphilis, and wears a wig.
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* BaldWomen: Florence is bald as a result of her syphilis, and wears a wig.wig, draws on eyebrows, and wears false eyelashes.
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* AffectionateNickname: St Clair and Florence call each other "Bunny" and "Whitey" respectively.
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''Florence Foster Jenkins'' is a 2016 dramedy film directed by Creator/StephenFrears. Creator/MerylStreep stars in the titular role, alongside Creator/HughGrant (who came out of retirement just to work with Streep). It tells the story of Madam Florence - an American socialite who had a great love of music. She was a gifted pianist in her youth, but a nasty bout of syphilis permanently damaged her hands. So she turned to singing instead.
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''Florence Foster Jenkins'' is a 2016 dramedy film directed by Creator/StephenFrears. Creator/MerylStreep stars in the titular role, alongside Creator/HughGrant (who came out of retirement just to work with Streep). It tells the story of Madam Florence - an American socialite who had a great love of music. She was a gifted pianist in her youth, but a nasty bout of syphilis (and/or the only treatment options at the time[[note]]neurotoxic heavy metals, namely mercury and arsenic[[/note]]) permanently damaged her hands. So she turned to singing instead.
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* SpoiledSweet: Despite seeming like an UpperClassTwit, Florence is actually perfectly nice and good-natured. Her being so nice was part of the reason no one could bear to tell her how bad her singing was.
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* SpoiledSweet: Despite seeming like an UpperClassTwit, Florence is actually perfectly nice and good-natured.good-natured, a passionate lover of music and patron of the arts. Her being so nice was part of the reason no one could bear to tell her how bad her singing was.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and [[Camp genuinely taking pleasure in it]], in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and [[Camp [[{{Camp}} genuinely taking pleasure in it]], in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and genuinely taking pleasure in it, in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and [[Camp genuinely taking pleasure in it, it]], in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members.
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* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members. Others (Augustus, for example) seem to oscillate between enjoying it out of a sense of mockery and genuinely taking pleasure in it, in part because of Florence's charisma.
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* CruelToBeKind: Inverted in that St Clair can't bring himself to tell Florence the truth because it'll devastate her, since she loves music so much.
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* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: St Clair can't bring himself to tell Florence the truth about her singing because it'd devastate her, since she loves music so much.
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Forgot to remove this before going with 'Ambiguously Gay'
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* CampGay:
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* AmbiguouslyGay: Cosme.
* CampGay:
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Cole Porter is one of the guests at Florence's performance.
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[ColePorter Cole Porter is one of Porter]] and actress Tallulah Bankhead are among the guests audience at Florence's performance.Carnegie Hall. A concert by soprano Lily Pons earlier in the film also was what inspired Florence to restart her singing lessons.
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* TraumaButton: Cosme is informed on the day of his hiring that Florence despises sharp objects, and later Florence freaks out at Cosme's apartment when a knife is accidentally dropped on the floor.
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* DramaticIrony: When Florence visits Cosme at his apartment, she tells him while talking about her relationship with St. Clair that during his attempted acting career she had to occasionally hide reviews from him, completely unaware St. Clair has to do the same for her singing.
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* StarDerailingRole[[invoked]]: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's association with Florence prevents him from really making it as a pianist.
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* StarDerailingRole[[invoked]]: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's Cosme fears his association with Florence prevents Florence's public performances will prevent him from really making it as a pianist.
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''Florence Foster Jenkins'' is a 2016 dramedy film directed by Stephen Frears. Meryl Streep stars in the titular role, alongside Hugh Grant (who came out of retirement just to work with Streep). It tells the story of Madam Florence - an American socialite who had a great love of music. She was a gifted pianist in her youth, but a nasty bout of syphilis permanently damaged her hands. So she turned to singing instead.
to:
''Florence Foster Jenkins'' is a 2016 dramedy film directed by Stephen Frears. Meryl Streep Creator/StephenFrears. Creator/MerylStreep stars in the titular role, alongside Hugh Grant Creator/HughGrant (who came out of retirement just to work with Streep). It tells the story of Madam Florence - an American socialite who had a great love of music. She was a gifted pianist in her youth, but a nasty bout of syphilis permanently damaged her hands. So she turned to singing instead.
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The film covers Florence's desires to make a comeback, and her famous performance at Carnegie Hall. Simon Helberg also stars as her pianist Cosme [=McMoon=] and Rebecca Ferguson as St Clair's girl on the side Kathleen.
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The film covers Florence's desires to make a comeback, and her famous performance at Carnegie Hall. Simon Helberg also stars as her pianist Cosme [=McMoon=] and Rebecca Ferguson Creator/RebeccaFerguson as St Clair's girl on the side Kathleen.
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* SuddenDownerEnding: The film plays Florence's bad singing for laughs most of the time. But then the film ends with [[spoiler: her reading the bad reviews and dying of her illness weeks later, her husband continuing to lie that everyone loved her singing]].
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* SuddenDownerEnding: The film plays Florence's bad singing for laughs most of the time. But then the film ends with [[spoiler: her reading the bad reviews and dying of her illness weeks later, her husband continuing to lie that everyone loved her singing]].singing]].
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* ShamingTheMob: Agnes Stark berates the soldiers in the audience for laughing at Florence.
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* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Earl Wilson is a journalist with scruples and is intent on reporting on Florence's performance just as he saw it, refusing the ever increasing sums St. Clair offers him to write a favorable review.
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* OnlySaneMan: Cosme McMoon provides an AudienceSurrogate at the beginning, and the Post reviewer publishes the truth, however harsh, about Florence's singing.
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* OnlySaneMan: Cosme McMoon [=McMoon=] provides an AudienceSurrogate at the beginning, and the Post reviewer publishes the truth, however harsh, about Florence's singing.
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* StarDerailingRole: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's association with Florence prevents him from really making it as a pianist.
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* StarDerailingRole: StarDerailingRole[[invoked]]: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's association with Florence prevents him from really making it as a pianist.
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* ChekhovsSkill: When Agnes first enters the big Carnegie Hall concert, all of the soldiers are highly interested in her, and she plays to the crowd with a little dance, stripping off her fur wrap. Later, when the same soldiers begin to mock Florence, Agnes capitalizes on her popularity to draw their attention and shut them up, which saves the show.
* EveryoneHasStandards: This is implied to be the unspoken rule among the art world regarding Florence. They know she's bad--Augustus Corbin and Agnes Stark make that clear--but they would ''never'' mock her to her face or insult her. They recognize that Florence is passionate above all, and that deserves respect.
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* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: St Clair pays off any critic who comes to see Florence perform, anticipating that she'll read a bad review in the paper. After her Carnegie Hall performance, he tries to buy all the papers to prevent her from reading the reviews.
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* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: St Clair pays off any critic who comes to see Florence perform, anticipating that she'll read a bad review in the paper. After her Carnegie Hall performance, he tries to buy all the papers to copies of the ''Post''--the one paper he couldn't buy off--to prevent her from reading the reviews.reviews. [[spoiler: She still manages to get her hands on one, and the shock of reading the review eventually leads to her death.]]
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Cosme didn't go on to bodybuild, but rather judge it.
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* GeekPhysiques: Acknowledged, as Cosme is very skinny but is shown lifting weights. The epilogue states that he became a body builder.
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* GeekPhysiques: Acknowledged, as Cosme is very skinny but is shown lifting weights. The epilogue states that he became a body builder.went on to judge bodybuilding competitions.
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* CringeComedy: Florence's singing is initially presented in this way, but once the tragic aspects of her character are revealed, it's not so funny.
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* OnlySaneMan: Cosme McMoon provides an AudienceSurrogate at the beginning, and the Post reviewer publishes the truth, however harsh, about Florence's singing.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/florencefosterjenkins.jpg]]
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* BlatantLies: Good '''GOD''' yes. The entire plot is hinged around no one daring to tell Florence about her singing.
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* CostumePorn: TruthInTelevision, as the real Florence was known for her elaborate stage outfits.
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* GorgeousPeriodDress: It's the 1940s and the protagonist is a high-society socialite, so there are lots of fancy evening gowns and tuxedos on display.
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* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The film makes Florence a little more sympathetic, showing that she only believed she was good because St Clair constantly lied to her and shielded her from any bad criticism. In reality, she was exposed to some criticism and chose to ignore it. She also paid off a few critics herself, rather than St Clair doing it to all of them.
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* SpoiledSweet: Despite seeming like an UpperClassTwit, Florence is actually perfectly nice and good-natured. Her being so nice was part of the reason no one could bear to tell her how bad her singing was.
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''Florence Foster Jenkins'' is a 2016 dramedy film directed by Stephen Frears. Meryl Streep stars in the titular role, alongside Hugh Grant (who came out of retirement just to work with Streep). It tells the story of Madam Florence - an American socialite who had a great love of music. She was a gifted pianist in her youth, but a nasty bout of syphilis permanently damaged her hands. So she turned to singing instead.
The problem? Florence was bad. Not merely passable or mediocre. She was ferociously terrible. She had no sense of rhythm, pitch or tone and her attempts at singing arias resulted in high-pitched shrieking. She was so legendarily bad that she ended up with a MisaimedFandom - who came to see her perform because of the [[{{Narm}} unintentional comedy]]. Believing they loved her singing, and believing she was actually talented - partly because of the BlatantLies of her husband St Clair Bayfield (Grant) - Madam Florence bought out a thousand seats at Carnegie Hall to give a performance dedicated to the soldiers of World War II.
The film covers Florence's desires to make a comeback, and her famous performance at Carnegie Hall. Simon Helberg also stars as her pianist Cosme [=McMoon=] and Rebecca Ferguson as St Clair's girl on the side Kathleen.
!!Tropes:
* BaldWomen: Florence is bald as a result of her syphilis, and wears a wig.
* ChekhovsGun: The bag Florence carries around with her turns out to be [[spoiler: her will. And she writes Cosme into it just before the performance at Carnegie Hall]].
* {{Corpsing}}: After Cosme's first session, where he discovers the extent of Florence's badness, he bursts out laughing in a crowded elevator. Agnes Stark is also left a hysterical pile of chuckles when she first sees it.
* CruelToBeKind: Inverted in that St Clair can't bring himself to tell Florence the truth because it'll devastate her, since she loves music so much.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Agnes Stark is a glamorous, fun-loving blonde. She's also a HardDrinkingPartyGirl.
* {{Fainting}}: [[spoiler: Florence faints in public when she reads the bad reviews and is left bedridden until her death]].
* GeekPhysiques: Acknowledged, as Cosme is very skinny but is shown lifting weights. The epilogue states that he became a body builder.
* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members.
* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: St Clair is seeing another woman Kathleen on the side, partly because he and Florence can't have sex (due to her syphilis). Kathleen is well aware of this and seems more annoyed that St Clair is neglecting her, rather than cheating on his wife.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Cole Porter is one of the guests at Florence's performance.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: Florence is a straight example and this is TruthInTelevision. Partly for this reason, many assumed she was intentionally parodying bad opera singers.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Florence, an elderly woman and Cosme, a man in his twenties bond through their love of music.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Florence from a singing perspective. In her defence, she's gotten no help from her vocal coach.
* MoodWhiplash: The comedy of Florence's performance at Carnegie Hall gets PlayedForDrama when she hears all the drunk soldiers laughing at her. But when Agnes Stark stands up for her and cheers her on, the singing becomes a heartwarming moment.
* OhCrap: St Clair and Cosme have this reaction when they discover Madam Florence is to perform at Carnegie Hall.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: St Clair pays off any critic who comes to see Florence perform, anticipating that she'll read a bad review in the paper. After her Carnegie Hall performance, he tries to buy all the papers to prevent her from reading the reviews.
* StarDerailingRole: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's association with Florence prevents him from really making it as a pianist.
* SuddenDownerEnding: The film plays Florence's bad singing for laughs most of the time. But then the film ends with [[spoiler: her reading the bad reviews and dying of her illness weeks later, her husband continuing to lie that everyone loved her singing]].
The problem? Florence was bad. Not merely passable or mediocre. She was ferociously terrible. She had no sense of rhythm, pitch or tone and her attempts at singing arias resulted in high-pitched shrieking. She was so legendarily bad that she ended up with a MisaimedFandom - who came to see her perform because of the [[{{Narm}} unintentional comedy]]. Believing they loved her singing, and believing she was actually talented - partly because of the BlatantLies of her husband St Clair Bayfield (Grant) - Madam Florence bought out a thousand seats at Carnegie Hall to give a performance dedicated to the soldiers of World War II.
The film covers Florence's desires to make a comeback, and her famous performance at Carnegie Hall. Simon Helberg also stars as her pianist Cosme [=McMoon=] and Rebecca Ferguson as St Clair's girl on the side Kathleen.
!!Tropes:
* BaldWomen: Florence is bald as a result of her syphilis, and wears a wig.
* ChekhovsGun: The bag Florence carries around with her turns out to be [[spoiler: her will. And she writes Cosme into it just before the performance at Carnegie Hall]].
* {{Corpsing}}: After Cosme's first session, where he discovers the extent of Florence's badness, he bursts out laughing in a crowded elevator. Agnes Stark is also left a hysterical pile of chuckles when she first sees it.
* CruelToBeKind: Inverted in that St Clair can't bring himself to tell Florence the truth because it'll devastate her, since she loves music so much.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Agnes Stark is a glamorous, fun-loving blonde. She's also a HardDrinkingPartyGirl.
* {{Fainting}}: [[spoiler: Florence faints in public when she reads the bad reviews and is left bedridden until her death]].
* GeekPhysiques: Acknowledged, as Cosme is very skinny but is shown lifting weights. The epilogue states that he became a body builder.
* GiftedlyBad: Florence's singing is such a disaster that it's mistaken for an intentional comedy by a few audience members.
* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: St Clair is seeing another woman Kathleen on the side, partly because he and Florence can't have sex (due to her syphilis). Kathleen is well aware of this and seems more annoyed that St Clair is neglecting her, rather than cheating on his wife.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Cole Porter is one of the guests at Florence's performance.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: Florence is a straight example and this is TruthInTelevision. Partly for this reason, many assumed she was intentionally parodying bad opera singers.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Florence, an elderly woman and Cosme, a man in his twenties bond through their love of music.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Florence from a singing perspective. In her defence, she's gotten no help from her vocal coach.
* MoodWhiplash: The comedy of Florence's performance at Carnegie Hall gets PlayedForDrama when she hears all the drunk soldiers laughing at her. But when Agnes Stark stands up for her and cheers her on, the singing becomes a heartwarming moment.
* OhCrap: St Clair and Cosme have this reaction when they discover Madam Florence is to perform at Carnegie Hall.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: St Clair pays off any critic who comes to see Florence perform, anticipating that she'll read a bad review in the paper. After her Carnegie Hall performance, he tries to buy all the papers to prevent her from reading the reviews.
* StarDerailingRole: In-universe. It's said that Cosme's association with Florence prevents him from really making it as a pianist.
* SuddenDownerEnding: The film plays Florence's bad singing for laughs most of the time. But then the film ends with [[spoiler: her reading the bad reviews and dying of her illness weeks later, her husband continuing to lie that everyone loved her singing]].
