Rating: 
Summary: De-Awful
Review: De-Lovely falls short on the life of Cole Porter who was a musical genius of his times... the story mostly focuses on the "love" between Cole and his wife or was suppose to anyway.
Instead, the movie focuses on the many affairs and male lovers of Cole-- which of course is true. But, by the end of the movie I felt like I needed to take a shower.
As a musical theater buff and someone who has seen renditions of Cole Porter's shows I can't help but, feel disgusted by this movie which should have been made into a LIfetime made for T.V. movie about adultry.
What amazed even more is that Mrs. Porter seemed to feel no pain towards Cole's affairs... and it amazed that Cole even acted liked he loved her in this movie.
Cole Porter was a remarkable man and the music in the movie is half-way decent so I'll give kudos for that but, there are other ways they could have made a movie about Cole Porter maybe focusing more on the career how he broke into the theatre industry and less on the sexual stuff. Poor Cole-- must be rolling in his grave right now.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Story Riddled with Too Many Unanswered Questions
Review: De-Lovely has all of the makings of a great movie. It has a wonderful and engaging cast, especially Kevin Kline as the American composer and songwriter Cole Porter. Ashley Judd is ethereal as the long-suffering wife of Cole Porter, Linda Lee Porter. Cole Porter?s music?performed mostly by today?s musical contemporaries like Robbie Williams and Sheryl Crow?is still beautiful, catchy and witty. The period suits and dresses are aesthetically pleasing. With all those pluses, De-Lovely should have been an excellent and entertaining movie but it isn?t. It left with me with an empty and confused feeling. Cole Porter (1891-1964) married Linda Lee Porter (1883-1954) in 1919. Linda was a wealthy divorcée, and several years older than Porter was when they wed. Porter was gay. Linda and Cole shared a mainly platonic marriage, which included separate bedrooms in their lush houses. The biopic De-Lovely inspires to be a celebration of their relationship, a love affair that is higher (and perhaps purer) than sex and sexual orientation. However, it doesn?t succeed. The movie never truly explains why Linda accepted this type of arrangement even though she knew from the start that Cole would rather sleep with men. Did she do it because she was lonely? Did she do it because they were great friends? Or did she do it because she needed a cover for her own sexual orientation? One never knows. In De-Lovely, Linda Lee knowingly marries a gay man yet balks (a lot!) when Cole has trysts with men. She encourages him to move to different parts of the world to work on his music in hopes that it will distract him from his extramarital affairs, and then becomes upset when it doesn?t. She even leaves him, only to come back when he is injured in a horseback riding accident. It only appears in this movie that Linda stayed with Cole to be able to apply for martyrdom. One is motivated to watch the movie from beginning to end to see if the secrets of their relationship are ever revealed. They are not, and, in the end it, makes De-Lovely a very dissatisfying movie despite its wonderful characteristics. As earlier mentioned, Kevin Kline?s performance is sublime. The music, although performed with a certain amount of campiness, remains timeless. (Skip the De-Lovely soundtrack and check out the Ella Fitzgerald Sings Cole Porter or the Frank Sinatra Sings Cole Porter CDs.)
Rating: 
Summary: Revisionist Propaganda
Review: Haven't seen the whole film. I can tell you the only place negroes had in society during that era was as servants yet we see plenty of them mingling with high-society. Absurd and insulting.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic
Review: I had to drive nearly 60 miles just to see this movie and it was worth the gas money to do so. This film is brilliant, and without a doubt, I would drive the 60 miles just to see it again. Kevin Kline stars as songwriter Cole Porter, who lives his life to the fullest and doesn't deny himself any happiness, whether it's happiness with his wife (played by the fantastic Ashley Judd) or with a man. It's life shown even at it's weakest moments-- his wife losing a baby and Cole being thrown from a horse and having serious problems with his legs afterwards, making it hard to use the piano pedals. This film is so poignant and lovely in every aspect. We get plenty of musical numbers of marvelous Cole Porter tunes, sung by wonderful guest stars, including Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, and Alanis Morissette. The performances by Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd have OSCAR written all over them. I highly recommend this film! Even if it's out of your way, as it was for me, try and make the trip anyway. If you're one of the lucky few who lives close to a theater playing this wonderful film, do not miss out on the amazing opportunity to see this one!
Rating:
Summary: De-Lovely Is De-Licious
Review: I love musicals; I grew up listening to Cole Porter's songs played on our piano. Yet De-Lovely renders emotional power to Porter's lyrics and melodies beyond the joy of his music--it expresses the symbionic relationship between his life and his music: the true core of Porter's art. While De-Lovely is a classic old-time musical in its storyline and structure, it is contemporary in its nuanced understanding of his bisexualtiy/homosexuality that underscored so much of his art and life. Both Kline and Judd do a tender and tragic rendition of the Porters' marriage in its blend of both joy and tragedy. Amazing are the passionate musical performances of many artists, especially Morissette and Crow (whose "Begin the Beguine" is my favorite).
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Love Story
Review: I love this movie. It is a beautiful but unconventional love story. I thought it was cast perfectly with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, who were wonderful together. I disagree with another reviewer who said the makeup wasn't good. I thought it was perfect and just made them look like older people rather than being too obviously made up. It was nice to see two people who stay together and love each other deeply, rather that just a shallow physical love. The music is absolutely beautiful, and when Cole sings to Linda at the end it's very touching and emotional.
I highly recommend Delovely!!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully Entertaining
Review: I rented this movie not expecting too much but I was pleasantly surprised. One of the things that I enjoyed tremendously was listening to the different versions of the songs that I have heard for most of my life. I enjoyed Kevin and Ashley's performance. For me, this movie did what I wanted it to do. It entertained me.
Rating:
Summary: This Is Your Life, Cole Porter!
Review: Irwin Winkler, the director of this film about Cole Porter, has chosen the device of the movie within the movie or play within the movie to present his story. Cole Porter (Kevin Klein) is an old man (wondrously made up incidentally) sitting in an empty auditorium watching his life unfold before him. There are many good reasons to see this movie, not the least of which is the score (words and music by Cole Porter). Both Klein and Ashley Judd do respectable jobs with their singing, which runs of course in the Judd family along with good looks. Some of the singing done by various artists is uneven; but seeing the movie made me want to buy a Cole Porter CD sung by someone with the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, for instance. Although the critics seem to be agog over Klein's acting-- and he is fine here-- certainly his performance is balanced by that of Ms. Judd, who does a beautifully nuanced portrait of Linda, Porter's (for the most part) understanding wife. Although Mr. Porter wrote wonderful music which is still bringing joy to a great many people, his marriage, particularly in his later life, if the movie is accurate, was not always happy. There is never any question, however, that the love between the Porters was true and enduring, in spite of Porter's other gay "night" life. The film is quite moving; the stranger sitting next to me wept several times in the movie and I heard sniffles behind me. The movie is beautifully filmed. The Coles obviously were high rollers-- lots of alcohol, cigarettes, roses, parties, fine cars and furniture; and the two stars must have worn every costume from the Armani catalogue. A glossy, sometimes brittle and ultimately sad movie.
Rating:
Summary: It's DE-PRESSING...
Review: It's sad to see Hollywood get it so wrong. Of course, it isn't new for Hollywood to get it wrong--but the people involved in this film should know better-especially Kline.
While some moments are indeed culled from reality (Cole Porter did lose the use of both his legs in a riding accident later in life and did have to be carried into the opening night of his musical KISS ME KATE on Broadway), some of the "liberties" Irwin Winkler and the screenwriter take with the facts are rather astonishing.
Like another reviewer has mentioned, Cole Porter led a fantastic, fun-filled social life, surrounded by wonderful personalities like Elsa Maxwell (where was she in the film?), Monty Wooley (represented, but poorly), the African-American entertainer Bricktop, Noel Coward, and the Windsors. Of course his parties would have been something else! But if you went by this film, you'd think he had few friends and nobody to count on but his wife Linda.
Ashley Judd is completely miscast as the wealthy divorcee who connects with Porter. She has no chemistry with Kline or anyone else in the film, and is too young for the part.
Kline himself is too old to play the young Porter and the ridiculously bad make-up used to make him the "old Porter" makes this viewer wish they had cast 2 actors.
Kline certainly has the right energy and vivacity to play a convincing Porter, but he needs a good script and a clever director and talented co-stars..all of which he was lacking in this sad excuse for a biopic.
Don't even get me started on the simply murderous versions of some of Porter's most wonderful songs, massacred by the modernized orchestrations and deliveries of the likes of Sheryl Crow (!!! Her take on "Begin the Beguine" is the worst cover of a Porter song I've ever heard--it doesn't even sound like the same song!), Elvis Costello, and other minor artists that don't deserve the few seconds given to them on screen.
Such a wasted opportunity to make a wonderful story for the screen about one of our greatest composers. Sad on all accounts.
If you want a better view of Porter's life and his music, I recommend the musical RED, HOT & COLE, a wonderful show that was written in the late 70s and was produced in LA and Richmond (never got to Broadway), but that uses Porters songs and the setting of several of his "swell parties", to tell his life story much more interestingly than this film could ever hope to do.
Rating:
Summary: Des-gusting
Review: Save your time and money and don't watch this abomination. This film sugar coats the ruinous marriage of the homosexual drug addict, Cole Porter. You can bet this film was produced by the Hollywood propaganda machine that is trying to destroy American culture. If you want to listen to this guy's music, download it for free.
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