De-Lovely Review
By Joe Lozito
Seems Like Cole Times
Cole Porter is one of those ubiquitous composers that make you think "oh, this is him too!" every time you hear one of his songs. In fashioning "De-Lovely", a musical-biography of Mr. Porter, director Irwin Winkler and writer Jay Cocks create what is essentially a collection of musical numbers revolving around moments in the composer's life. In that way, the film is more of a "Cole Porter's Greatest Hits" than a biopic. And, like a Hits compilation, it doesn't hold together as a cohesive whole.
Ostensibly, the plot would like to revolve around Mr. Porter's troubled marriage of convenience to Linda, a woman who was seemingly happy playing house with Mr. Porter as he indulged in his homosexual dalliances. In reality, Linda had trysts of her own, but those are not mentioned in the film, perhaps since none of Mr. Porter's songs would have expressed her view on their relationship.
The film wrestles uncomfortably with the idea that Linda was actually the love of Cole's life, even though their relationship was far from traditional. Mr. Porter's sexuality is handled with a few furtive glances across crowded rooms rather than any of the romance that permeates his lyrics. With scenes lasting about half the length of the songs, the story is never able to gel into a plotline that holds the audience's attention or, more importantly, heartstrings. By the time Mr. Porter suffers the accident that would eventually leave him confined to a wheelchair, the movie has degenerated into Afterschool Special territory ("I can't work the pedals!" he yells, not once but several times).
Kevin Kline struggles admirably with the wooden script, making Mr. Porter one of those charming dandies in which he seemingly specializes. Ashley Judd fares less well as Linda. Ms. Judd may look the role, but she tends to vacillate between looks of happiness, annoyance and tears with very little middle ground. While that may work for a musical, it doesn't build up any real feelings for the film's central relationship.
For a biopic of such a dynamic character, "De-Lovely" lacks the humor and energy that made Mr. Porter himself so memorable. While the songs - particularly the cameo performances by modern artists such as Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and Robbie Williams - are typically beautiful, without any sustained tension, the film feels too long. Even an ending almost plagiarized from "All That Jazz" fails to pack a much-needed emotional wallop. Only Mr. Kline, on screen in almost every frame, keeps the film going with another of his reliably strong performances. His work alone is worthy of the title "De-Lovely".
