10 Surprisingly Great Movies From Summer 2016
6. Florence Foster Jenkins
What We Expected: Meryl Streep doing her Meryl Streep thing...playing a person almost nobody's heard of or interested in, while directed by the infuriatingly inconsistent Stephen Frears and co-starring a never-hammier Hugh Grant. It's pure Oscar bait and Streep will probably end up with a nomination regardless.
What We Got: A terrifically entertaining turn from Streep in an unexpectedly engaging and heartfelt portrayal of a fascinating figure. Perhaps the movie's biggest success is in capturing the human essence of its title character, and on a broader level realising our universal desire to be known, loved and express ourselves. It's not about how well you do it, it's simply that you do it with feeling.
Plus, Hugh Grant gives possibly the best performance of his career as Jenkins' husband, even if it's really Streep's show all the way.