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	De-Lovely
	Irwin Winkler Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally, Sandra Nelson, Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Mick Hucknall, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole 2004		Unashamedly, "De-Lovely" is a stagey throwback to movie musicals and show-biz biopics of a bygone era, with Kevin Kline portraying Cole Porter — one of pop music's greatest composers, and a man whose homosexuality was hidden from the public that adored his tunes. Porter didn't have much of a singing voice, so Kline, whose Broadway bonafides are a matter of record, holds back. Still, the actor manages to bring forth a witty, vivid Porter, believably aging from the songwriter's salad days in the '20s through his musical comedy triumphs in Hollywood and on the New York stage, and into brooding old age. Porter's marriage to Linda Lee, his patient muse and a pillar of high society, is the anchor of "De-Lovely." In a welcome break from a string of mediocre crime thrillers, Ashley Judd brings grace to the role of Linda, whose relationship with Porter is depicted as transcending sex. The frankness displayed by "De-Lovely" is preferable to "Night and Day," the Cary Grant vehicle that purported to tell Porter's life story while never addressing his sexuality. "De-Lovely" is also spiced up with modern singers (Alanis Morrisette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, etc.) warbling Porter classics with uneven results. That's a hoot, but the script's adherence to the bogus melodramatic tone and dialogue of old-time film biographies renders the project a mere curiosity.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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