Meryl Streep is right in tune – or not – as ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’

It comes as no surprise by now that there’s pretty much nothing that Meryl Streep isn’t good, or frankly great, at ... and that happens to includes being bad. She has to be that, vocally, in the title role of “Florence Foster Jenkins” – the true tale of a woman who couldn’t sing, yet went on to become a major singing star at Carnegie Hall. EPIX shows the very entertaining 2016 film Thursday, March 24, and expert director Stephen Frears (“The Queen”) clearly knows just how improbable this story of success is; he infuses the movie with that spirit, and he achieves that without ever looking down on its subject. He surely gets help from his central star: Leave it to Streep to carry herself in just the manner required, as an avid arts supporter who is completely convinced of the thought, “Hey, I could do that, too.” Not everyone who believes they can do something actually can, though, and Jenkins’ money speaks louder than her vocal abilities as she sets out to secure a place for herself on the stage. It’s always fun to watch Streep in tandem with other well-known performers, and though she’s naturally pivotal to the film, she’s not the only one who makes her mark here.

Hugh Grant is just terrific in deploying his familiar image to play Jenkins’ husband, a wouldbe actor who guides his wife’s career and lives vicariously through her stardom. You’re never quite sure whether he has actual affection for her or whether he’s with her for other purposes –-a notion underscored by his having a mistress (Rebecca Ferguson) – and that owes to the craftiness of Grant’s acting and Nicholas Martin’s script.

The biggest and most welcome surprise, though, is “The Big Bang Theory” alumnus Simon Helberg. He ,also refits his popular traits as Jenkins’ piano player who tries to turn a deaf ear to what he hears. The character is crucial as a surrogate for viewers, and Helberg does a fabulous job with it.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” occasionally tries to dig deep into the psychology of its figures, but it works best when it sticks to the basics of how anybody can be a star. And yet again here, Meryl Streep defines what a true star is, with very laudable help from those around her.