Much-loved composer Cole Porter (Kevin Kline) looks back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with people and events becoming the actors and action onstage. A sparkling celebration of Porter's music, plus a stirring exploration of his elegant, excessive past and his deeply complicated relationship with .. Read more
| Starring | Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Keith Allen |
|---|---|
| Director | Irwin Winkler |
| Genres | Drama |
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Much-loved composer Cole Porter (Kevin Kline) looks back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with people and events becoming the actors and action onstage. A sparkling celebration of Porter's music, plus a stirring exploration of his elegant, excessive past and his deeply complicated relationship with wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter (Ashley Judd).
| Starring | Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Keith Allen, Natalie Cole, Allan Corduner, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Mick Hucknall, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette, Peter Polycarpou, Robbie Williams |
|---|---|
| Director | Irwin Winkler |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | Polish |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | Croatian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Slovenian, Swedish |
| Released | DVD: 07 Mar 2005 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
owbiz biopic. Done right, you come away with Oscars and roses. Hit a bum note, it's raspberries and whine. Despite the best of intentions, Irwin Winkler's Cole Porter biopic falls... read more »
This is a very strange film. In some ways it makes a game attempt to depict a complicated and varied life, but essentially it fails. In many ways it seems like one of the more tiresomely stagey American plays -- cloyingly sentimental in parts, and clumsily acted with hopeless lack of realism.
Perhaps the worst aspect of this film is that it descends into being a luvvie schmooze-fest, with all manner of currently popular singers -- Robbie Williams, Alanis Morrissette, Diana Krall -- mangling Cole Porter's wonderful songs in wildly anachronistic styles: the one extract which is an actual Porter soundtrack, at the beginning of the final titles, underlines the hideous inappropriateness of these efforts.
Pleasant enough entertainment, I suppose, but in many ways a waste of time. Cole Porter deserved much, much more than this thin film.
Having watched the movie 'de-lovely' I really must comment the performance of Kevin Kline. Since 'A Fish called Wanda' Kline has gone from strength for me. His portryal of Cole Porter's extraordinary life was sensitively handled and with a fantastic musical score as its backdrop, this was a truly delightful movie. Watch out for Robbie Williams and Mick Hucknell!
Kevin Kline was in London last night promoting his new film De-Lovely. The actor, famed for his show-stealing role in A Fish Called Wanda, greeted fans at the premiere of the film - which details the life of legendary US composer Cole Porter. The film recounts the life of the jazz musician, played by Kline, as if it was one of his own shows - providing a lively look at a life less ordinary. With cameos including pop superstar Robbie Williams and Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, and the role... Read more