If you're looking to hear some of Cole Porter's more engaging songs without a lot of distraction, you'd better keep seated through the final credits.
Only here can you hear these delights without interruption. In the movie proper you get snippets, tidbits, overlapping, segues, and rough cuts.
Kevin Klein displays his piano skills well, yet the quality of his singing voice leaves much to be desired. OK for a few pieces, but he goes on and on song after song. It's really too much Klein with the vocals, and a real disappointment.
Credit Natalie Cole's brief rendition of "Everytime We Say Goodbye" an artistic highpoint. The rarely performed "Love for Sale," is a another refreshing moment. But "Begin the Beguine" is given an odd (jazz) rendition, with the A section seemingly sung a several notes too low (or high, depending on your perspective). The bridge comes together better, with the return of A being like looking at a subject in a distorted amusement park mirror.
Director Irwin Winkler has a sophisticated concept for the production; in actuality, though, it's only partly successful. There's just too much jumping around, segmenting, and being clever with the camera--rather than an honest narrative that allows some depth of experience to occur.
As for the singing quality, the other film based on Porter's life, "Night and Day" is the winner here. The 40s film may have left out the composer's alternative preference lifestyle, but the vocals there put these in "De-Lovely" to shame.
Then again, most of the pop singing of the '00s is pretty mediocre, isn't it? Understandable, since the 20th century closed the door on so much in music performance. No place left to go but simply change it. So: "black's white today, day's night to day, and men who women prize today are just simply gigolos."
Man, you sure had the right idea, Cole, baby.
Only here can you hear these delights without interruption. In the movie proper you get snippets, tidbits, overlapping, segues, and rough cuts.
Kevin Klein displays his piano skills well, yet the quality of his singing voice leaves much to be desired. OK for a few pieces, but he goes on and on song after song. It's really too much Klein with the vocals, and a real disappointment.
Credit Natalie Cole's brief rendition of "Everytime We Say Goodbye" an artistic highpoint. The rarely performed "Love for Sale," is a another refreshing moment. But "Begin the Beguine" is given an odd (jazz) rendition, with the A section seemingly sung a several notes too low (or high, depending on your perspective). The bridge comes together better, with the return of A being like looking at a subject in a distorted amusement park mirror.
Director Irwin Winkler has a sophisticated concept for the production; in actuality, though, it's only partly successful. There's just too much jumping around, segmenting, and being clever with the camera--rather than an honest narrative that allows some depth of experience to occur.
As for the singing quality, the other film based on Porter's life, "Night and Day" is the winner here. The 40s film may have left out the composer's alternative preference lifestyle, but the vocals there put these in "De-Lovely" to shame.
Then again, most of the pop singing of the '00s is pretty mediocre, isn't it? Understandable, since the 20th century closed the door on so much in music performance. No place left to go but simply change it. So: "black's white today, day's night to day, and men who women prize today are just simply gigolos."
Man, you sure had the right idea, Cole, baby.