Review of De-Lovely (2004) by Jesse L — 02 Oct 2004

(Theatre) (First Viewing, 1st Winkler film).

Kind of interesting I ended up seeing two biopics in the matter of two nights, but it has provided for some interesting comparisons in a genre I'm not very familiar with. [b]De-Lovely[/b] takes on the life of the beloved Cole Porter, composer of many classic song standards of the 20th century. In 1946 the film [b]Night and Day[/b] (starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith) hit the screens, but as the composer was still alive at the time, it was a largely tame and sanitized version of his life up to that time. In [b]De-Lovely[/b] we get to see Kevin Kline take on Porter, playing him as a young man and subsequently at every stage of his life until his death (with the aid of much makeup).

One can see the temptation of revisiting Porter's life- there's enough music, famous names, and bisexual relationships involved to make several films. One can see that those involved were insistent on trying to tell the "real" story, as all of the seedy aspects of Porter's life are played up for maximum effect. One is supposed to be convinced that the love Porter's life was his wife Linda (Ashley Judd) despite the fact he never got over his desire for good-looking young men, but the pair only occasionally succeed at pulling off this feat.

The script is the best and worst thing about [b]De-Lovely[/b], which has a dying Porter visited by a supernatural visitor (the arch-angel Gabriel, who appears as an old man named "Gabe"- how very original). He then takes the aged Porter to an empty theatre, where they then proceed to watch a show being created of Porter's life by using his songs. The gimmick both succeeds and fails at the same time, as it is an effective and appropriate framing device, but at the same time it's not particularly insightful or handled very well either.

On the other hand, the film looks impeccable, and Porter's songs (sung by a myriad of popular music stars, including Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crowe, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, etc.) which really works well about half the time, and often gives the film a spark that keeps the film lumbering along good-naturedly.

A decent film I suppose, but it often seemed more exploitive than particularly illuminating as far as biographical facts go. Looks and sounds terrific, in the grand tradition of the MGM musical which Porter left an indelible mark on, but ultimately [b]De-Lovely[/b] stands as a very minor contribution to the genre.