Dinner
and a Movie
By
Steve Herte
Florence
Foster Jenkins (Paramount, 2016) – Director:
Stephen Frears. Writer: Nicholas Martin. Stars: Meryl Streep, Hugh
Grant, Aida Garifullina, David Haig, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson,
Stanley Townsend, Nina Arlanda, Christian McKay, John Kavanagh, Allan
Corduner, Mark Arnold, and Nat Luurtsema. Color, Rated PG-13, 111
minutes.
It’s
1944, World War II is in its fifth year and the Verdi Theater is
providing music to the elite of New York City to keep their spirits
up. With the monetary support of Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl
Streep), an heiress and wife of St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), an
out of work Shakespearean actor, musical vignettes and tableaux are
performed along with monologues for the Vanderbilts, Garmunders and
other society people.
When
St. Clair takes Florence to Carnegie Hall to hear Lily Pons
(Garifullina) sing, she’s not only enraptured but she decides to
revive her own singing career, even though at 76 she hasn’t sung in
50 years. She enlists the vocal coaching of Carlo Edwards (Haig) of
the Metropolitan Opera and has St. Clair interview potential piano
accompanists. The first applicant pounds out a passionate Chopin work
and Florence complains that he’s “raping my ears” and he’s
summarily dismissed. But when Cosmé McMoon (Helberg) plays “The
Dying Swan” by Tchaikovsky, she’s totally enthralled and tells
St. Clair to send the other applicants home.
Florence
warns Cosmé that “I work hard at my singing. One hour a day,
sometimes two.” He agrees and arrives promptly for the first
rehearsal the next day. But he is not prepared for what he will hear.
As Florence joyously goes from gasping low notes to almost quacking
the high ones, he has to control himself to keep from laughing. The
audience, however cannot do the same. As Carlo enthuses over her,
giving her encouragement and vocal tips along the way (which she
basically misunderstands anyway) the scene is side-splitting. Later,
in the elevator, Cosmé just cannot restrain his laughter, and the
audience has a second helping of hilarity.
But
every family has its ups and downs and Florence’s marriage is no
exception. St. Clair and she do not have a physical relationship (for
reasons we learn toward the end of the film) and he leaves her in
Manhattan for his apartment in Brooklyn, which he shares with
Kathleen (Ferguson).
Florence
decides that she’s ready for a concert and St. Clair judiciously
controls the ticket sales. Only “Music Lovers” are allowed to
attend. This elite group of high society includes Phineas Stark
(Townsend) and his new gold-digger type wife Agnes (Arlanda). The
line of people is most impressed when Florence walks past them with
Arturo Toscanini (Kavanagh). John Totten (Corduner), show critic for
the New York Post tries to get a ticket but is put off when
St. Clair offers him a bribe not to review it. At the concert, all
are polite, but Agnes, not knowing how to react begins cackling and
coughing and is removed from the venue as having had an attack of
illness. Outside the theater, she’s still rolling on the floor
laughing.
The
concert goes so well that Florence makes a recording to give as a
gift to her friends for Christmas. A new song, “Like a Bird”
written by Cosmé is played on the radio and the fan mail pours into
Florence’s apartment (mostly from servicemen). She surprises St.
Clair by booking Carnegie Hall for a free concert to 1,000 servicemen
to thank them for their sacrifices. Her usual coterie of friends is
also invited along with Cole Porter (Arnold) who brings Tallulah
Bankhead (Nat Luurtsema). Up until now, St. Clair has been able to
control the outcome and feedback, but this time he sees the
servicemen arriving drunk and among the audience is John Totten (who
leaves early).
Whether
or not it is intentionally funny, Florence Foster Jenkins is
a sensitive recounting of a true story. Meryl Streep masterfully
plays the eccentric lead character while channeling Julia Child (I
could hear it) and Hyacinth Bucket (Keeping Up Appearances –
BBC). Hugh Grant, though a little over-the-top in his monologues,
is genuine in his love both for Florence and Kathleen. And, he does a
mean swing dance with Agnes at a party. Simon Helberg is the perfect
straight man. His mobile face tells what he’s feeling and the
audience can sense it through him. After a near disaster, he’s
still agog. “I played Carnegie Hall!”
Having
seen Meryl Streep in Into the Woods, I know she
really can sing (it’s proven toward the end of the film). Learning
deliberately how to sing badly must have been a chore. I definitely
recommend this film to families with children who will understand
what’s going on on-screen. Small children will not. I also see a
few Oscar nominations and hopefully a win for Florence Foster
Jenkins.
Rating:
4½ out of 5 Martini
glasses.
Kristalbelli
8
W. 36th St., New York
Those
who think that Kristalbelli is an Italian restaurant would be
wrong. It’s a high-end, chic, Korean restaurant. From the street,
all that can be seen is a red cedar paneled door with “8W” above
it and the name in raised bronze letters across it. The door is
subtly recessed into a wall of gray cedar shingling and is easy to
miss if you’re not aware of the address.
Inside,
all is sleek cream colors and black trim. I was taken to a room
consisting of five tables, a wall of mirrors and rainwater-clear
glass swags. Asked ahead of time if I was going to do their barbecue
or order off the menu, I chose the latter and a table had to be
readied for me, for all tables in this restaurant are cooking
stations for barbecue. A pedestal houses a stove whose heating
element cooks through a crystal bowl in the table top. This circular
bowl forms the center of a brass Buddha’s belly, which rests on the
marble tabletop, hence “crystal belly.” or Kristalbelli. A pun.
To
start, I ordered the Cucumber Sojutini, a refreshing mix of Soju (a
distilled rice liquor whose name means “burned alcohol drink”),
lime juice, muddled cucumber and a splash of soda garnished with a
cucumber slice. The steel martini glass was the most attractive part
of this deceptively mild drink.
As
I was finishing my cocktail, my first course, the Shrimp Salad,
arrived – warm, plump, spicy seriously spicy Tiger Shrimp liberally
placed on fresh mesclun greens, frisé and baby spinach with a sweet
mayo sauce dressing. I loved it.
The
second course, the Full Moon Dumplings, arrived before I was
two-thirds finished with the first. The dumplings look just like
Japanese or Chinese fried dumplings, only these are lined up on the
plate and are partially covered by a thin crispy crust, which gives
the overall impression of a horseshoe crab on the plate. Given the
choice of pork or vegetable stuffing, I chose pork. The server
instructed me on how to separate the dumplings with the serving tongs
and how to crack the crust and get the most enjoyment out of the
dish.
While
enjoying my two appetizers, my wine arrived, a 2013 Syrah “Ex
Umbris” from Columbia Valley in Washington State: a deep, dark red,
full-bodied and with a blackberry tone to the taste, perfect for the
meal.
A woman rolled a cart in with a platter of typical Korean side
dishes including; spiced dried squid, sweetened beets, string beans,
red cabbage and a savory tofu. On a separate plate, she placed a
single oblong piece of the national dish, Kimchi (a Korean red pepper
spiced cabbage).
I
was enjoying tasting all of the side dishes between sips of my wine
when the main course, Galbijjim, arrived. Served in a bubbling hot
iron crock was the juiciest, tender braised beef short ribs (I could
cut the pieces with my chopsticks) mixed with jujube (a fruit much
like a date), rice cake and mushrooms in the most outrageous sauce I
could imagine. Utterly delicious with an earthy overtone.
Would
there be room for dessert? Actually, I was satisfied but not full. My
waiter recommended two desserts, one as being the most popular and
the other as his favorite. I chose the most popular one, again,
because of the name, Nunedine, a dollop of caramel ice cream drizzled
with caramel on one side of the plate and three crisp puff pastries
at the other joined by a smear of chocolate sauce and a smear of
caramel on the plate.
When
I finished this meal, my opinion of Korean restaurants improved
greatly. This was my 10th experience and a very pleasant one.
Everyone on the staff was smiling genuinely and were happy to answer
my questions. The big surprise was the demonstration on how to eat
the dumplings. I’m not used to that. Kristalbelli, silly name or
not, is number one in my Korean book.
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