De-Lovely

2004
PG-13
2h 5m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

12K

YOUR RATING

Ashley Judd and Kevin Kline in De-Lovely (2004)

Play trailer2:22

1 Video

99+ Photos

Jukebox Musical Biography Drama Music Musical

Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.Inspecting a magical biographical stage musical, composer Cole Porter reviews his life and career with his wife, Linda.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

12K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 13 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:22

Official Trailer

Photos100

+ 94

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Many scenes in the film are actually one continuous shot. The scene where Cole is visiting the gentleman's club during the song "Love For Sale" is a good example. The scene is supposed to be representing three different times where Cole was in the club. Most of the dancers are costume personnel who would perform costume changes on other actors and themselves and then walk back into the shot. Even the singer changes hair pieces and earrings in this shot.

Goofs
The scene depicting the song "So In Love" on the opening night of "Kiss Me, Kate" depicts the song as a duet between the two leads during the show's Shakespearean play-within-a-play. In "Kiss Me, Kate," "So In Love" is not a duet. Both of the leads do sing solo versions of the song at a different point in the show, however neither takes place in the play-within-a-play.

Quotes
Monty Woolley: Cole, he's only an actor but he still may be right. He's tried it 7 times already, the song's a problem.
Cole Porter: The song is not a problem, it's a challenge. Jack! Jack my boy, how can I help you? Ask me anything.
Jack: Write another song.
Cole Porter: Oh God, that cuts me right to the quick. I know it's God awful but it's the best I can do and we open in three days.
Jack: Where do you get your ideas?
Cole Porter: I get them all from a little Chinese man in Poughkeepsie.
Jack: Mr Porter, the song goes so high and so low it's impossible.
Cole Porter: It's not impossible. I wrote this with you in mind, I can sing it and I have a range of three notes.

Crazy credits
The music credits, along with their prime singers, are shown twice, once just before the cast, and then further down where the music credits usually are.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy/Before Sunset/De-Lovely/The Clearing/Fahrenheit 9/11/Spider-Man 2/Two Brothers/White Chicks (2004)

Soundtracks
In the Still of the Night
Performed by Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd
Written by Cole Porter
Published by Warner Bros., Inc. / Chappell & Co, Inc. (ASCAP)
Produced by Stephen Endelman and Peter Asher

User reviews235

Review

Featured review

Who told them they could do that?

This film looks well and has several performances, both dramatic and musical, that are worthy of note. Of the latter in fact Elvis Costello and Natalie Cole in particular came off very well. My biggest beef, however, was with Sheryl Crow's performance of "Begin the Beguine." I haven't heard or read it commented upon so apparently it wasn't noticed that she didn't sing the melody nor did the arrangement follow the fairly complex chord structure that Cole Porter wrote. Taking liberties in jazz is one thing. It's common practice among jazz musicians to take interpretative flights far from the source material and yet still stay fairly close to the general structure and melodic line. In this travesty of a straight, non-jazz performance Ms. Crow quite simply didn't sing the tune as written and the arrangement fairly clobbered the carefully structured co-relation of major and minor chords, altered notes leading to secondary dominants and shifts of key and melody that lead to the tune's climax and denouement. I suppose it's some sort of comment on the general unfamiliarity with popular song of the golden age of Broadway in general and Cole Porter in particular that is to blame but it seems a pity that someone somewhere along the line didn't call her on this. It's plainly and flatly wrong and she should have been told.