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By
BILL CONIFF
De-Lusional. For some
reason, as I watched this inept bio of Cole Porter
I kept being reminded of "At Long Last Love," the
Peter Bogdanovich debacle from 1975 that also,
ironically, featured Porter songs. Like that
earlier movie, this one was made by people who
claim to love musicals but are unable to show any
evidence of it in their work. The difference is
that the older movie seemed like a lark for those
involved; they appear to have enjoyed making it,
even if no enjoyment was left for the audience.
"De-Lovely" is deadly serious -- pretentiously so.
It's certainly not "easy to love."
The director (Irwin Winkler) was unable to decide
what tone the musical numbers should have, so we
get everything from a stunningly bad "Be a Clown"
semi-fantasy number with L.B. Mayer leaping
alongside Porter (Kevin Kline) to a more
traditional staging of "Kiss Me Kate." Several of
the singers butcher Porter's songs (for example,
Elvis Costello, Diana Krall and Sheryl Crow). The
very talented John Barrowman is an exception, but
he's forced by the script situation into singing
off-pitch -- he plays a performer having trouble
learning "Night and Day." (To catch Barrowman at
his best, watch the DVD of "Putting It Together,"
the Stephen Sondheim revue.) Capping it all off is
the "Blow Gabriel Blow" finale, which displays yet
again the talentless hand (and foot) of this
movie's choreographer.
Biographically, even fewer notes ring true in
"De-Lovely." That's where the pretensions really
kick in. The filmmakers obviously believe they are
creating a more "honest" portrayal of Porter than
"Night and Day," the almost entirely fictionalized
1946 musical starring Cary Grant. But they are so
reticent and unfocused in handling Porter's sexual
orientation that they fail to improve on the
earlier movie. Casting Ashley Judd as Linda,
Porter's wife, was also big mistake, since it
entirely changes the dynamic of their
relationship. Judd is nearly 20 years younger than
Kline, who plays Porter, when in fact Linda was
several years Porter's senior. That said, Judd
does a fine job with what she's given, and Kline
tries his best, although he's obviously miscast
too. The supporting performances are generally
weak.
At two hours in length, "De-Lovely" seems endless.
Not helping matters: The desperate screenwriter
gambit of having an elderly Porter view the events
of his life with Jonathan Pryce as his (angelic?
demonic?) guide. It's an extremely annoying and
self-conscious approach that only leads to
unintentional hilarity, such as the moment when
the Porter of the "life movie" tosses his crutches
to the viewing Porter. Ugh.
Poor Porter. He deserves, as one of our very best
songwriters, much better.
For what it's worth, the DVD image and sound are
fine. The special features include two, count 'em,
two commentaries, one with Winkler and Kline, and
the other with Winkler and the screenwriter (Jay
Cocks). |
