‘Florence Foster Jenkins’ Trailer: Meryl Streep Is the World’s Worst Opera Singer — Watch

Meryl Streep’s next ~~Oscar nomination~~ movie now has a trailer: “Florence Foster Jenkins,” a musical biopic directed by Stephen Frears. Streep plays the singer of the title, an actual soprano described somewhat hilariously as being “known and ridiculed for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pronunciation; and her generally poor singing ability.” Hugh Grant stars as her doting husband, who goes out of his way to protect his wife from this harsh perception.

In the trailer, which veers toward the uplifting end of the spectrum, we get a sense of Jenkins’ immense love of her craft — as well as her general inability. “She can be a little flat,” her piano accompanist declares. “It defies medical science.” Her dedication endears her to many during the film’s 1940s setting, however, and the smart money’s on “Florence Foster Jenkins” ending on a moment of triumph.

Streep has demonstrated her singing ability in such wide-ranging films as “The Deer Hunter” and last year’s “Ricki and the Flash,” which almost makes her intentionally bad vocal chops more impressive here. Jenkins’ life also loosely inspired the French drama “Marguerite,” which was nominated for 11 César Awards and recently released stateside. Frears is best known for directing the likes of “High Fidelity,” “The Queen” and “Philomena.” “Florence Foster Jenkins” is set to be released on August 12.

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