The makers of “De-Lovely” have stated that their motivation in producing this biographical film was to bring the music of Cole Porter to a new generation.
A laudable aim; Porter was a great songwriter. But this strikes me as a dumb reason to make a movie. I’m sure director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Jay Cocks were also interested in plumbing the depths of the man, and exploring Porter’s uniquely complicated marriage. But “De-Lovely” is vague about what the point of it all is.
The film is framed as something that might flash through Cole Porter’s mind in the moments before his death – we first meet him in 1964, the year he died. Kevin Kline plays the songwriter.
Some kind of mystical stage manager (Jonathan Pryce) arrives to show Porter a musical comedy version of his life, which is the movie that we watch. (The aging Porter’s observation upon seeing a younger-looking Kline playing him is, “He’s very good. Not much of a singer.”)
The bio proper begins with Porter meeting divorcee Linda Lee Thomas (Ashley Judd) in Paris in 1918. He’s still struggling as a composer, she’s extremely wealthy – so she can take care of him in the manner to which he’s accustomed.
Financially and emotionally, that is. Sexually, well … The movie insists that Linda was fully aware of Porter’s homosexuality and put up with his affairs because she believed in his genius.
Linda remains a mystery, but casting steely Ashley Judd at least convinces us of the woman’s strong backbone. At one point she wonders whether Cole’s wild, neglectful lifestyle was really worth it, because it was all on behalf of a bunch of songs.
For the rest of us, the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.” And what songs they are. Porter is one of those American artists perpetually underrated because he didn’t announce his artistry with a lot of moaning and wailing. The champagne fizz of his clever lyrics belies the passionate and soulful music beneath.
Porter’s tunes punctuate the story, crooned by a quirkily assembled group of singers. This is a mixed bag. Sheryl Crow trips over a weird arrangement of the masterpiece “Begin the Beguine,” and Robbie Williams massacres “It’s De-Lovely.”
On the plus side, Alanis Morissette is surprisingly deft with “Let’s Do It,” and Elvis Costello jokes it up with “Let’s Misbehave.”
The script cruises through Porter’s life, not showcasing his gay side but not ignoring it either (as happened in the whitewash 1946 biopic, “Night and Day,” with Cary Grant). The Porters move to Hollywood, his legs are crushed in a 1937 horse-riding accident, and Linda nurses him through his chronic physical pain. Porter used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Winkler, who last directed “Life as a House,” with Kevin Kline, sees all this through a dry, dutiful period sheen. It’s a stalwart treatment of one of the wittiest people of the last century. (The movie fudges historical accuracy, which I suppose can be shrugged off since what we’re seeing is Porter’s fantasy of his own life. Still, racially mixed chorus lines on Broadway in 1930?)
Kline, who always seems to be hiding his true self, sounds like good casting as Porter. But he’s simply too old for the character as a young man, and he rarely displays a sense of creative fire.
A batch of Cole Porter music CDs by various singers are being released to tie in with this movie. Go listen to “Love for Sale” and “Anything Goes,” and you’ll have a sense of the musical genius not captured by “De-Lovely.”
Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in “De-Lovely.”
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