De-Lovely

Plot synopsis:
As he is about to die, Porter's life flashes before him in the form of a musical production staged by the archangel Gabriel in the Indiana theater where the composer first performed on stage.
He immediately calls to mind the start of his story - the night he met his wife, Linda Lee Thomas - Paris' latest divorcee and stunning beauty. From the start, they "click" and become a devoted couple. Linda is well aware of Cole's gay identity and activities; her "ex" was the same but violent with her. Cole is completely different, she declares on their wedding day - he loves and adores her and shows it, so she tolerates his dalliances. Her love for and devotion to him are strong enough for her to overlook his romantic flings outside their marriage. With Linda his fun with music turns into a top international career. Their lavish lifestyle is enviable worldwide. At film's end he tells her the songs were all about her - "not all" she corrects - but enough of them. The leaders in music praise his work and his amazing shows begin. Linda begins a tradition for his show opening nights - a Cartier cigarette case custom designed and engraved to commemorate each show, but almost misses one of his openings herself due to miscarriage and they remain childless.
To cheer Linda, the couple move the showbiz, by invitation, to Hollywood. Great excitement, a new extravagant home, but trouble: his flings get too overt and indiscreet and it creates tension. Cole is photographed in an amorous embrace with another man in a public restroom of a gay nightclub, and both he and Linda are blackmailed into paying a heavy settlement to suppress publication of the pictures. When he shrugs off the blackmail, she finally goes to Paris, leaving him bereft.
Not until he is injured in a horseback riding accident that seriously cripples him does she return to his side, willing to forgive but still finding difficulty in coping with his extramarital affairs. Eventually Linda is diagnosed with emphysema, and as she prepares them both for her impending death, she introduces him to her decorator and estate advisor, in an attempt to give Cole a new partner once she's gone. The match is successful.
Linda dies in 1954, and Cole is devastated. But he continues his work until 1958, when degeneration of the bad leg finally requires amputation, affecting his creative output. He never writes again, but works in productions of his earlier works, dying in 1964 at age 73.

Tags: romantic, queer, flashback

Review:
Kevin Kline proves you don't have to look like the "Real Person" to bring his spirit to life and Ashley Judd (contrary to some unfair and plain wrong reviews) gives us a strong Linda Porter, a complex and vulnerable Linda Porter who, as is usually the case, finally succumbs to her life choices with an uncommon grace and courage.Those people in the audience who had no idea about Mr. Porter's sexual preference, oh'd and ah'd in the beginning.
Much of todays music is aimed toward an audience with a very short attention span, wanting instant gratification, and to counter that with the music of Cole Porter is a wonderful gift to an entire generation.This movie works on so many levels.
I ended up feeling empathy for Linda; the lovely, lovable and steadfast; and respect and admiration for the Cole Porter figure.But, what made the movie fly for me was the music (go figure!).
As I think of the many dimensions documentaries have taken recently, from the ersatz 'Fahrenheit' to the authentic 'Metallica,' I am pleased to report the biopic remains whole, with Irwin Winkler's ('Life as a House') 'De-Lovely,' the life in song about Cole Porter and his wife, Linda.I say 'in song' because barely a moment in not accompanied by Porter's music so recognizable I can cite 'Night and Day,' 'In the Still of the Night,' 'Anything Goes,' 'Let's Misbehave,' and 'True Love' without research help or the least provocation.
Judd's portrayal relies on her porcelain beauty, wry smile, and serene wisdom in the service of an unconditional love that cost Linda in embarrassment, extorted money, and time away from Porter.Songs interpreted by Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, and Diana Krall, among others, bring the film into the present with the 'timeless' effect without compromising flawless period depiction of the Jazz Age and Tin Pan Alley.
In the end this biopic helped me understand the rewarding and demanding life of Cole Porter, gave me over two hours of glorious song and dance, and made me see again the allure of true love that transcends sex and ego.
But these are mere quibbles compared to the movie's strengths, especially as we are treated to Natalie Cole, Vivian Green and Diana Krall doing superb renditions of Porter's music."De-Lovely" is the first musical I have seen that I really liked and where I also found myself humming along to the music.
after the movie finished a young man with a foreign accent sitting near me asked me the following question."did some-one like him really exist and did he write all those words and the music as well." I was able to tell him a few more things about the legendary man and his music because as an amateur jazz pianist I have always envied the wonderful literacy and the every lasting notes that Cole Porter put together.
I've been singing and playing Cole Porter's music on the piano for fifteen years now as well as listening to his songs done by greats like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
One example is how the movie uses the song 'True Love' to depict the seeming duality Porter had in his feelings towards Linda and his 'other life', shall we say.
The film tries to have it both ways -- mainstreaming Porter so an audience that loved his music could handle it, and still showing what they seem to portray as a "seemy" underside to his life.
For instance, the very woman who was supposed to have inspired this movie, Cole Porter's wife Linda, also was reported to have given the song "De-lovely", its name.
Overall, this movie does a fair-to-excellent job of showing both the highs and lows of a complex relationship and of the man himself.I was pleased to see that accomplished singer Kline was able to croak out the songs that his character wrote, because Porter was known to be a poor singer.
DE-LOVELY (2004) *** Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonatahan Pryce, (Cameos: Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Mick Hucknall, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole) Kline gives a marvelously sublime turn as acclaimed songsmith Cole Porter whose career as one of the preeminent song writers of the twentieth century was inspired by his wife Linda (the usually irritable Judd who acquits herself nicely), whose marriage sustained quite a bit due to Porter's homosexual predilections which are depicted with class thanks to director Irwin Winkler who uses the flashback as seen by an aged Porter viewing his fabulous career as well as the pitfalls with a decidedly unsubtle angel (Pryce) escorting him into the afterlife thanks to a workman-like screenplay by Jay Cocks.
The two main things wrong with this movie are as follows: the screenplay is NOT true to Cole Porter's life story, and some of the vocal and musical performances are truly terrible.Cole Porter was homosexual.
The film "De-Lovely" attempts to make out the married life of Cole and Linda Lee Porter as if this were some classic Hollywood love story.
My favorite musical performance in this movie was the recording heard at the end behind the credits of Cole Porter himself singing "You're the Top".
I really enjoyed watching Kevin Kline's new film "De-Lovely" last night though can see why people looking for "Moulin Rouge 2" will be disappointed.The film is a semi musical which traces the life of Cole and Lynda Lee Porter from their meeting in Paris to the end of their lives.
It follows Porter's rise from playing at parties to producing Broadway blockbusters and Hollywood soundtracks whilst his wife has to contend with his lifestyle.The film stars Kevin Kline as Cole Porter - perfect casting and should hopefully sometime do a musical / play in London before too long - and Ashley Judd as Lynda Lee Porter - wonderful & elegant and has a good singing voice as well.The film also stars Jonathan Pryce, John Barrowman, Keith Allen, Kevin McNally as well as cameo's by Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Alanis Morrisette and many others all singing Porter's songs.I thought the film was wonderfully tender and a love story about two people who accepted each others wants outside of their marriage and whom were devoted to one another.Added to this, some stunning renditions of numbers from "Anything Goes", "Kiss Me, Kate", "Night and Day" and many others.The two hours (plus) flew by and I'd recommend taking some tissues.I'd recommend this film to anyone who likes love stories, the music of Cole Porter and want a film which doesn't involve car chases, gratuitous swearing and nudity.PS I really like Moulin Rouge (saw it twice and went to the UK Premiere).
It is a great musical in the `they don't make em like that any more' sense, a poignantly heartwarming love story with true emotional depth (and a twist), a celebration of life and happiness (as well as a recognition and understanding of life's tragedies), and a star vehicle for two truly talented actor/singers, Kevin Klein and Ashley Judd, plus a plethora of cameo appearances by currently popular singers (including Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Natalie Cole) who obviously are singing their songs more for love (of Cole Porter) than money.As depicted in De-Lovely, Cole Porter possessed more joie-de-vivre than perhaps any man in history, and he wrote his songs straight from the heart.
While this last observation may be my own singular and subjective problem, I squirmed mentally as I tried to figure out whether the makeup artists wanted to make Kevin Kline look like an aging Jeff Daniels, or a real-time Carl Reiner?It would be nearly impossible to destroy Porter's music; the quality is there regardless of the interpretation.
Some of the costumes, stagings and vocals are ludicrous: the costuming and set design for the Venetian duet, two people who appear not to like each other or the fit of their costumes; and the feeble-voiced crooning of a "Mountie" [Nelson Eddy - sound alike]: NOT!Then there is the presentation of Porter, the man [Kline] and his long-suffering wife [Ashley Judd, excellent with the role she's given].
Real figures such as Sara and Gerald Murphy were included but never explained,nor was Monte Woolley - and as for what they did to L.B. Mayer with "Be a Clown" - well, Mayer's family should sue - obviously Fred Astaire's family wisely refused permission to have him portrayed in the film, which is why somebody named 'Jack' over-sings "Night and Day".As the older Porter, Kevin Kline's makeup resembled nothing so much as Jim Backus as Thurston Howell on "Gilligan's Island." This movie really doesn't give the viewer a sense of Porter's place in musical theater history - for instance, he had five hits with Ethel Merman alone, and really had about as much to do with the real Porter as the earlier "Night And Day" did - they were simply able now to show his "other interests".
I knew when I heard some of the songs on the website that there would be trouble - todays performers simply don't know how to put over a Cole Porter song - they all either try too hard (like the awful Ethel Merman impersonation), or are completely out of their league (Elvis Costello?????) or, like Sheryl Crow, never even get near Cole Porter's exquisite melody.The only reason I don't rate this movie an absolute "0" is because the production values were good - the photography included some very nice time-transitions, and the costumes were lovely..
We get the odd scene in which we get to know that he has an eye for the boys, but the film likes to think that it's a romance between Porter and his wife, Linda (Ashley Judd in comedy latex make-up).
For the time investment of a few simple key-strokes and mouse clicks, you'll be able to learn and truly appreciate more about Cole Porter, his life, his music and his genius, than this blanched, consumptive Kevin Kline vehicle could ever hope to provide..
For the time investment of a few simple key-strokes and mouse clicks, you'll be able to learn and truly appreciate more about Cole Porter, his life, his music and his genius, than this blanched, consumptive Kevin Kline vehicle could ever hope to provide..
The opening scenes of Irwin Winkler's "De-Lovely" are hardly promising: Kevin Kline--in old man's makeup--playing songwriter Cole Porter, being led somewhat reluctantly by a friendly guide through his colorful, extravagant life filled with friends, lovers, and his longtime wife and supporter, Linda (it smacks a bit of Dickens).
The result was a 1946 film biography that put many of Porter's greatest songs before the camera while casting handsome Cary Grant as the waspish Porter and lovely Alexis Smith as the somewhat icy Linda--a movie that went over well with audiences but which actually had very little basis in reality.The 2004 DE-LOVELY takes a considerably different tack.
This is the film where you'll see Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, John Barrowman, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Mick Hucknall, Alanis Morrisette and others perform his works, while Kline performs one or two numbers very well himself (notably 'Be a Clown' which turns into a joyous studio set parade).Enjoyable and sadly not a great hit on its release, it should be better known and more celebrated.
I meen it was far too long but it was good look on an era where certain things in society had to be hid away.it was good to see Kevin Kline do a good performance of Cole Porter, sure the musical moments are brinking on embarrassing at times but he is a damn fine actor The best performance though was by Ashley Judd playing Linda Porter by a mile.
It is like they decided to make a film about Cole Porter, only to suddenly remember that he wrote a few songs and therefore they felt they had no choice but to include some of them in the story -- but only if they didn't get in the way.
The film gives us Jonathan Pryce as Gabe (Gabriel), a figure of death who visits a declining, elderly Porter (Kevin Kline) and allows him to review his life as if it was a new musical stage production.
Music from a Cole Porter story should ring in your memory for days, not allow you leave the film feeling like you have been merely pleasantly entertained..
Subsequently, I was mentally primed for a gratifying movie experience that not only touched upon Cole Porter's music, but a more honest portrayal about his personal life, as well.The introduction of decency codes in Hollywood film-making and the swing in public opinion regarding the gay community had great impact on personal lives at the beginning of the Great Depression.
I knew nothing about the man (except having heard a few of his songs occasionally), so this biography/musical hybrid opened my eyes to the man behind some of the classic music of the 20th century, and also his private life, which, I heard, was better represented here than in Night and Day, the Cary Grant version of Porter's life.Porter (Kevin Kline), who, when the movie begins, is already established as a songwriter and occasional singer (although his singing voice isn't as good as others-Kline perfected this), at a part, falls in love with Linda (Ashley Judd, doing something more than formulaic crime thrillers).
But the way Kline and Ashley Judd play off each other, (and with a fine script by Jay Cocks), I could easily believe the way she inspired him.Cole Porter's songs are sung exceptionally well by all the singers, and I especially loved Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow (who I didn't expect to like), Alanis Morissette, Natalie Cole, and Robbie Williams.
Will probably get at least ONE nomination.The film weaves a complex thread between Cole's life, loves and music, the songs executed by Kevin Kline and a star studded cast of Jazz and pop performers - If you're into these contemporary singers - Elvis Costello, Alanis Morrisette, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, etc then sight recognition of the singers will all be part of the fun.
But this was a terrible, sappy, dreary movie about partyboy  Porter's supposed love life with tons of unimaginative musical numbers sung by Kevin Kline (who was too old for most of the scenes and whose non-singer's voice grows v-e-r-y weary after a while).
"De-Lovely" is a musical biography of Cole Porter, a GREAT American composer.The opening scene is one of those scenes that is so good that it, alone, is worth seeing the movie for.A darkened, high-rise apartment.
I never knew where this would lead, but suffice it to say I was hooked and watched the special times in Porter's life which showed us his main love and wife, Linda (Judd), his gay lovers and, of course, his music.
Some may think that Kevin Kline would not be a good fit for the Cole Porter role (I know I had reservations), but he aces it along with everyone else in this wonderful story about one of our greatest song writers.
Perhaps this is because I knew very little about Cole Porter and so had no real reference point for the story, although I've often enjoyed hearing his songs.Kevin Kline, an actor I don't usually care for, steals the show, and Ashley Judd is an able and most photogenic foil.
The complication and contradictions of Cole Porter's double life between homosexuality and his love for his wife did not seem very complicated nor hard for Kevin Kline's character to deal with.
so disappointing .....to one like myself brought up with a great love and respect for the musical genius of Cole Porter..........
De-Lovely is an overlong, poorly structured biopic that works far better than it should, thanks to a diverse array of musical performances and an honest examination of its complex subject, composer Cole Porter.The film follows Porter's life  from his carefree promiscuity in 1920s France, where Porter (Kevin Kline) woos wife to be, Linda Lee (Ashley Judd)  to his solitary death in the 1960s.
Kevin Kline hits another one out of the park as musical legend Cole Porter in "De-Lovely," a biopic of the legendary musician's personal and professional life from his early career on.The film is far more accurate and truthful about Cole's life than the sugar-coated "Night and Day" (1946) starring Cary Grant, which was made too soon and at a time when the homosexual aspects of Cole's life (which are portrayed quite elegantly in De-Lovely) were still verboten in society.The heart and soul of De-Lovely lies in the relationship between Cole and his soul mate/"wife" Linda, who share a unique, but always loving marriage.
The movie asks the question: Who does Cole Porter think about when he is writing love songs?
I also never knew anything about Cole Porter or his life, much less that he wrote many of the very popular tunes we've heard.I believe Kevin Kline performed amazingly in this movie, along with Ashley Judd's performance.
The cameo performances in the film were so fabulous to enjoy with the various artists.Mr. Kline & Ms. Judd, thank you for bringing Cole Porter's life more into the light and for me to enjoy.
We all know the story is about Cole Porter's life, including his sexuality, his inspirations for his music, his wife, and just Hollywood in general back then.
The movie tells us the life of Cole Porter, and beside having a chance to listen to all his famous songs, we can take part in a very romantic, yet realistic love story.
Ashley Judd was also impressive as Porter's wife.The music and the artists who performed Porter's songs were "De-Lovely".
It's the film's main weakness.But it's a minor point when you are treated for two hours of Cole Porter's life and music brought to us by some of today's best performers.