De-Lovely

If you were invited to go back and watch your life as a movie, what would it look like?

In this highly stylized, very smart script, Writer Jay Cocks (The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York) delivers a truly lovely tribute to singer Cole Porter. It begins with an aged Porter sitting in a theater while a state-play is prepared. Once he realizes the play is to be his life, the story gets more interesting.

Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, I Love You to Death, and Dave) is so perfect as Cole Porter, you forget he is acting. It is obvious how much fun he had playing this role. It earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Ashley Judd (A Time to Kill, and Double Jeopardy) plays Porter's long-suffering, very patient, understanding wife, Linda. As for the historical accuracy of this picture, I cannot give an opinion, and critics disagree. But either way, Judd did a great job with the range of emotions her character went through.

The story moves back to the older Porter sitting in the theater with Gabe (angel Gabriel?) played with stone-cold precision by Jonathan Pryce (Evita and Pirates of the Caribbean series). This type of additional narration adds greatly to the story, and is well written and well-acted.

Even if you are not a fan of Cole Porter music, or that era of shows, this movie is worth the watch because it is so unique. On the other hand, if you do like music from this time, you will love this movie. The soundtrack is worth having on your ipod.

Watch this movie with someone who likes to dance.