"This is one of those avant-garde things, is it?" asks a droll and dying Cole Porter (Kevin Kline) sitting in an empty theater at the beginning of De-Lovely, watching his life pass before his eyes on the stage, in a production conducted by an enigmatic, ironic, ethereal director named Gabe (Jonathan Pryce). And the answer is a delighted "yes," as this film is an imaginative, deconstructionist, celebratory musical biography woven together from elements of theater, meta-cinema, chamber drama, and Porter's own MGM musicals with gratifying--if deliberately glossy--results. Kline also plays the young Porter in the bulk of the picture, which has a merry, dreamlike quality to its stop-and-start interactions with the elderly Porter (fondly reminiscent but pained by regret) and his theatrical spirit guide. Structured around his atypical, sometimes unstable, but always adoring relationship with wife Linda (Ashley Judd), the film takes full advantage of Porter's prolific catalog of catchy, innuendo-tinged, covertly autobiographical tunes to illustrate the couple's ups and downs, and the bisexual dalliances that sometimes fueled them. But its core remains the delicate, finely balanced performances of Kline and Judd, who find all the joy and all the sorrow in these characters' lives. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Irwin Winkler and star Kevin Kline; the other by Winkler and writer Jay Cocks), four production featurettes--on the “making-of,” music, and two scene-specific segments--totaling 49 minutes, deleted scenes, a soundtrack spot, and a trailer. Bottom line: a handsome extras package for a lovely film.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—May 24, 2011—MGM, 125 min., PG-13, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's De-Lovely sports a decent transfer with DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to the standard DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by director Irwin Winkler and star Kevin Kline; the other by Winkler and writer Jay Cocks), production featurettes on the “making-of,” music, and two “Anatomy of a Scene” segments (49 min.), deleted scenes (15 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for a fine musical bio-pic.]
De-Lovely
MGM, 125 min., PG-13, VHS: $39.99, DVD: $26.98, Dec. 21 Volume 20, Issue 1
De-Lovely
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