History YMMV / FlorenceFosterJenkins

* AccidentalAesop: Being surrounded by [[YesMan Yes-Men]] and/or [[ProfessionalButtKisser Professional Butt Kissers]] can't shield one from less biased perspectives forever.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** As of ''Film/TheGirlOnTheTrain'' and ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' Rebecca Ferguson seems typecast as the unlucky other woman.
** It's hilarious if you watch this and then watch Meryl Streep in ''Film/RickiAndTheFlash'' where she does the opposite - a talented musician who doesn't get the recognition she deserves.
** Simon Helberg, best known for ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' appears in an OscarBait film. As if following tradition, the next year his co-star Jim Parsons would do the same in ''Film/HiddenFigures''.
** Brid Brennan playing Meryl Streep's maid is amusing if you've seen the film version of ''Theatre/DancingAtLughnasa'' - where they play sisters. And Brid goes on a rant about how she's Meryl's unpaid servant. Meryl played Kate in the latter, and Brid plays Kitty in this.
** Creator/HughGrant suddenly started appearing in a lot of television series after this film. It was because he'd been initially dismissive of Simon Helberg for being a sitcom actor but then realized Helberg was one of the wealthiest people he'd ever met and he decided he wanted some of that sweet TV money.

** Brid Brennan playing Meryl Streep's maid is amusing if you've seen the film version of ''Theatre/DancingAtLughnasa'' - where they play sisters. And Brid goes on a rant about how she's Meryl's unpaid servant. Meryl played Kate in the latter, and Brid plays [[NamesTheSame Kitty]] in this.

** Brid Brennan playing Meryl Streep's maid is amusing if you've seen the film version of ''Theatre/DancingAtLunasa'' - where they play sisters. And Brid goes on a rant about how she's Meryl's unpaid servant. Meryl played Kate in the latter, and Brid plays [[NamesTheSame Kitty]] in this.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Lookalikes of Cole Porter and Tallulah Bankhead were hired for the Carnegie Hall scene but were only really seen entering the hall despite ample shots of the audience throughout the recital (however, they do feature more prominently in unedited footage). Furthermore, the lookalike actress of Lily Pons, shown performing a recital earlier in the film, was actually in attendance of the real Florence's recital, but can't be seen in the movie one.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: It's up in the air how much sympathy St Clair deserves. He lies to Florence to spare her feelings, but is it because he's afraid of devastating her? Or does he just not want to have to do the CruelToBeKind thing? The fact that Florence's ego is a shaky thing does give him good reason, but how much of that is due to being constantly lied to by her inner circle?

* AwardSnub: Inverted. When Creator/AmyAdams was infamously snubbed for an Oscar nomination for ''{{Film/Arrival}}'', and Meryl Streep was nominated for this, many cited this as the nomination that should have been cut to make way for ''Arrival'''s. Many attributed Streep's nomination as a combination of going for the safe pick, and being politically motivated after she tore apart the highly controversial president elect Donald Trump in a well publicized speech beforehand.

* Creator/HughGrant suddenly started appearing in a lot of television series after this film. It was because he'd been initially dismissive of Simon Helberg for being a sitcom actor but then realized Helberg was one of the wealthiest people he'd ever met and he decided he wanted some of that sweet TV money.

* AwardSnub: Inverted. When Amy Adams was infamously snubbed for an Oscar nomination for ''{{Film/Arrival}}'', and Meryl Streep was nominated for this, many cited this as the nomination that should have been cut to make way for ''Arrival'''s. Many attributed Streep's nomination as a combination of going for the safe pick, and being politically motivated after she tore apart the highly controversial president elect Donald Trump in a well publicized speech beforehand.

* AwardSnub: Inverted. When Amy Adams was infamously snubbed for an Oscar nomination for ''{{Film/Arrival}}'', and Meryl Streep was nominated for this, many cited this as the nomination that should have been cut to make way for ''Arrival'''s.

* TheWoobie: All Florence wants to do is sing. The problem is that she's so terrible, everyone who sees her can't do anything but laugh. [[spoiler: It's clear that she's devastated by the bad reviews, and convinces herself that the people were really applauding her singing]]. Not to mention that she had a promising career as a pianist (which she ''was'' actually good at) cut short by getting syphilis from her first husband. In RealLife, physicians now believe that thanks to the syphilis, Jenkins probably ''heard'' herself as in-tune, even though she wasn't. Had she not been afflicted, she'd have sung normally.

* TheWoobie: All Florence wants to do is sing. The problem is that she's so terrible, everyone who sees her can't do anything but laugh. [[spoiler: It's clear that she's devastated by the bad reviews, and convinces herself that the people were really applauding her singing]]. Not to mention that she had a promising career as a pianist (which she ''was'' actually good at) cut short by getting syphilis from her first husband.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** The movie builds very well to Florence's first singing lesson. Even if you know what's coming, it's still hysterically funny. Cosme bursts into hysterical giggles as soon as he's in the elevator.
** Florence's [[TrademarkFavoriteFood obsession with potato salad]]. She's somehow convinced that if she ever runs out, her parties and luncheons will be a disaster. At one point, we see exactly how St. Clair and Kitty prepare for those functions--they quite literally ''fill a bathtub'' with potato salad, and ladle it out as they need more.
* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Agnes silencing ''everyone in Carnegie Hall'' to stand up for Florence and silence the hecklers, giving the singer the opportunity to continue her concert.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: The movie builds very well to Florence's first singing lesson. Even if you know what's coming, it's still hysterically funny. Cosme bursts into hysterical giggles as soon as he's in the elevator.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: During Florence's big concert at Carnegie Hall, the soldiers that she invited begin to laugh hysterically at her, and more audience members join in, deriding her singing voice and mocking her. Florence is so overwhelmed that she almost faints...and that's when Agnes Stark, who had [[HeelFaceTurn laughed at an earlier performance]], jumps up from her seat and silences the crowd with a whistle. She screams at the hecklers for making fun of Florence, noting that she's singing her heart out and deserves to be treated better. Agnes then rallies the whole crowd to give the singer a standing ovation, including the soldiers who initially teased her; Florence is then able to continue. It's clear that, despite initially thinking Florence a joke, Agnes has come to respect her for her passion and love of music.
** In the same scene, Augustus Corbin, a playwright friend of Kathleen's who had also teased Florence earlier, is among the first to stand up and start applauding thunderously.
** Florence revealing the contents of her briefcase--[[spoiler: her will--to write Cosme into it.]]
** Cosme wordlessly stepping in to play piano with Florence, having learned just how much she loved playing and coming to understand how emotionally devastating it was for her to have lost dexterity in her left hand.
** In telling Cosme about her and St. Clair in their earlier days, Florence talks about his acting and how she occasionally hid reviews to spare him. Part of the film's humour is in how St. Clair is willing to bribe critics and even go so far as to dictate the wording of certain reviews, but this along with an earlier conversation shows she is willing to protect her husband just as much as he is her and deeply cares about his happiness.

* TearJerker: For a lighthearted movie, there's quite a few:
** The tender confession scene between Florence and Cosme at his apartment, in which she opens up about her past as a piano player and losing the ability to play due to nerve damage as well as the intense loneliness she feels whenever St. Clair goes away for the weekend. The two then play a Chopin piece together, with Cosme playing the left hand part. It's at this moment that Cosme comes to understand Florence's motivations and truly begins to bond with his patron.
** The beginning of the Carnegie Hall concert, when the audience begins to heckle and jeer at Florence. She's so upset that she nearly faints. Thankfully--and as described above--Agnes Stark is on hand to turn this into a Heartwarming Moment instead.
** The ''entirety'' of [[spoiler: Florence's death scene. As she lies dying, she hears Cosme playing piano, and imagines herself back on stage at Carnegie Hall, singing again. Only this time, she sounds absolutely gorgeous...and we realize that ''this is how she always heard herself.'' She genuinely believed that she was a beautiful opera diva, which takes some of the humor from the whole film.]]
*** Similarly, Florence's [[spoiler: FamousLastWords, which hint at the fact that deep down, she might have known that she was bad, but didn't care: "People may say I couldn't sing...but no one can ever say I ''didn't'' sing."]]

* 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.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Agnes silencing ''everyone in Carnegie Hall'' to stand up for Florence and silence the hecklers, giving the singer the opportunity to continue her concert.

* {{Tearjerker}}: For a lighthearted movie, there's quite a few:

** The tender confession scene between Florence and Cosme at his apartment, in which she opens up about her past as a piano player and loneliness when St. Clair goes away for the weekend. The two then play a Chopin duet together. It's at this moment that Cosme truly begins to bond with his patron.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: During Florence's big concert at Carnegie Hall, the soldiers that she invited begin to laugh hysterically at her, and more audience members joining in, deriding her singing voice and mocking her. Florence is so overwhelmed that she almost faints...and that's when Agnes Stark, who had [[HeelFaceTurn laughed at an earlier concert]], jumps up from her seat and silences the crowd with a whistle. She screams at the hecklers for making fun of Florence, pointing out that she's singing her heart out and deserves to be treated better. Agnes then rallies the whole crowd to give the singer a standing ovation, including the soldiers who initially teased her; Florence is then able to continue. It's clear that, despite initially thinking Florence a joke, Agnes has come to respect her for her passion and love of music.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: During Florence's big concert at Carnegie Hall, the soldiers that she invited begin to laugh hysterically at her, and more audience members joining in, deriding her singing voice and mocking her. Florence is so overwhelmed that she can barely speak...and that's when Agnes Stark, who had [[HeelFaceTurn laughed at an earlier concert]], jumps up from her seat and silences the crowd with a whistle. She screams at the hecklers for making fun of Florence, pointing out that she's singing her heart out and deserves to be treated better. Agnes then rallies the whole crowd to give the singer a standing ovation, including the soldiers who initially teased her; Florence is then able to continue. It's clear that, despite initially thinking Florence a joke, Agnes has come to respect her for her passion and love of music.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: When the drunk soldiers start laughing at Florence, none other than Agnes Stark stands up for her and cheers her on. Agnes herself had burst out laughing at Florence's first performance, but it's clear that she has come to feel affection for the woman and is prepared to cheer her on. Florence is persuaded to finish the show.