De-Lovely
Wednesday, September 1, 2004; Patriot Cinemas Nickelodeon (Portland, ME)
* * 1/2
I’m kind of glad the movie musical resurgence hasn’t been complete and overwhelming. There are a lot of bad musicals out there that I fear would be fodder for a lot of bad movies, and lord knows the studios couldn’t stand to leave them untouched if it looked like they’d make the money. It’s something that must be done correctly, trying to maintain the spectacle of the Broadway musical, but taking advantage of the different offerings of the film media. De-Lovely accomplishes that, but unfortunately falls short in some places because parts of this movie are either distracting, or simply not entertaining.
It tells the story of Cole Porter (Kevin Kline) as he looks back on his, which plays out in the form of a stage musical. Jonathan Pryce plays Gabe, some representation of Porter’s subconscious that guides him through his own story. In addition to examining the incredible career and talent that was Porter, the story concentrates on the complex and confusing relationship he had with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter (Ashley Judd). Porter wanted to experience life and love in all it’s forms, and no matter how pure and true his love for Linda was, someone living that lifestyle is sure to run into conflict with their partner.
Porter’s life is presented in a straightforward-enough fashion; it’s chronological, with one or two inaccuracies. The first being that Linda Lee is younger that Cole Porter, a fact that was reversed from real life. This may be by casting necessity, since it would be quite a feat to make Kevin Kline look younger than Ashley Judd, but it’s still one of those intimate details of Porter’s life I wish they would stick to. There are some scenes that are presented in a very unflattering way; it felt like Porter’s scenes with his male lovers were presented as Porter’s dark secret, the thing that was ruining his marriage, and since this movie focused on the love story, I suppose that’s true. But his homosexual urges were a part of who Cole Porter was; he wanted to experience every possible type of love and companionship, and in his eyes his male lovers were completely separate and uninvolved in his married life. It doesn’t seem fair or truthful to his life story to present these events in a negative life.
There were some technical issues that bugged me as well. First off, Kevin Kline is just too old to play Porter in some of the scenes, especially early on. Some of the makeup jobs were angering. At times, the latex on Ashley Judd’s face was plainly visible, and at others the makeup was strikingly effective. It was also poor casting to put Kevin Kline, who can sing very well, in the only role in this movie who is supposed to sing badly.
The movie certainly does a good job of showing the ease with which Porter drew on his genius and talent, and the tension that must have existed between he and his wife. Unfortunately, the time in between is less than captivating (not sure how much of that is Porter’s true life, or how much is subpar writing), and some technical elements kept this film well below where it could have been.
Wednesday, September 1, 2004; Patriot Cinemas Nickelodeon (Portland, ME)
* * 1/2
I’m kind of glad the movie musical resurgence hasn’t been complete and overwhelming. There are a lot of bad musicals out there that I fear would be fodder for a lot of bad movies, and lord knows the studios couldn’t stand to leave them untouched if it looked like they’d make the money. It’s something that must be done correctly, trying to maintain the spectacle of the Broadway musical, but taking advantage of the different offerings of the film media. De-Lovely accomplishes that, but unfortunately falls short in some places because parts of this movie are either distracting, or simply not entertaining.
It tells the story of Cole Porter (Kevin Kline) as he looks back on his, which plays out in the form of a stage musical. Jonathan Pryce plays Gabe, some representation of Porter’s subconscious that guides him through his own story. In addition to examining the incredible career and talent that was Porter, the story concentrates on the complex and confusing relationship he had with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter (Ashley Judd). Porter wanted to experience life and love in all it’s forms, and no matter how pure and true his love for Linda was, someone living that lifestyle is sure to run into conflict with their partner.
Porter’s life is presented in a straightforward-enough fashion; it’s chronological, with one or two inaccuracies. The first being that Linda Lee is younger that Cole Porter, a fact that was reversed from real life. This may be by casting necessity, since it would be quite a feat to make Kevin Kline look younger than Ashley Judd, but it’s still one of those intimate details of Porter’s life I wish they would stick to. There are some scenes that are presented in a very unflattering way; it felt like Porter’s scenes with his male lovers were presented as Porter’s dark secret, the thing that was ruining his marriage, and since this movie focused on the love story, I suppose that’s true. But his homosexual urges were a part of who Cole Porter was; he wanted to experience every possible type of love and companionship, and in his eyes his male lovers were completely separate and uninvolved in his married life. It doesn’t seem fair or truthful to his life story to present these events in a negative life.
There were some technical issues that bugged me as well. First off, Kevin Kline is just too old to play Porter in some of the scenes, especially early on. Some of the makeup jobs were angering. At times, the latex on Ashley Judd’s face was plainly visible, and at others the makeup was strikingly effective. It was also poor casting to put Kevin Kline, who can sing very well, in the only role in this movie who is supposed to sing badly.
The movie certainly does a good job of showing the ease with which Porter drew on his genius and talent, and the tension that must have existed between he and his wife. Unfortunately, the time in between is less than captivating (not sure how much of that is Porter’s true life, or how much is subpar writing), and some technical elements kept this film well below where it could have been.
posted by Matt S. at
10:50 AM
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