Review of De-Lovely (2004) by Jonny P — 03 Apr 2014

My first mistake was that I thought I was watching "Beyond the Sea," the Bobby Darin biopic that was released around the same time, My second mistake was that, once I realized my mistake, I was hoping for a Cole Porter biopic.

Instead, I found a musical about the struggles of being a homosexual in a heterosexual marriage... Needless to say, "De-Lovely" was a big disappointment. I do like the presentations of Porter's music by popular singers of the modern age (particularly Alanis Morissette singing "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)" and it is magic to see this composer watching the first performance of "Anything Goes," but that's where the positives of this film end.

I would love it if it showed the history and inspiration of each famous hit (a la "The Glenn Miller Story"), but the musical numbers are merely used as interludes between various moments in Porter's personal life.

The best part of the film is the "So In Love" sequence, because it actually takes the time to tell the story behind the song and it becomes beautifully meaningful. Kevin Kline is good, but not good enough to save this film.

"De-Lovely" strikes me as the type of film that took itself too seriously in anticipation of winning several Oscars, only to find itself without a single nomination. I love Cole Porter's music, but I would recommend watching any of his musicals in lieu of sitting through this one.