De-Lovely (2004)
Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in the 2004 musical biopic DE-LOVELY, based on the life of gay American composer and songwriter Cole Porter.
DE-LOVELY
2004 | USA
Director: Irwin Winkler
Screenplay: Jay Cocks
Starring: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally, Sandra Nelson, Kevin KcKidd, Allan Corduner, James Wilby & Peter Polycarpou
The 2004 musical film De-Lovely is based on the life of gay American composer and songwriter Cole Porter. Much like the biopics from the Golden Age of Hollywood, De-Lovely features songs written by Porter and performed in the film by a handful of famous singers: Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Robbie Williams, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, etc.
The first film released about Cole Porter featured Cary Grant as the famous composer in Night and Day (1946). It focused on the importance of Porter’s relationship with his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, but naturally omitted his homosexuality, as the censors during the infamous reign of the Hays Code would never have allowed it to be mentioned.
Much like the earlier film, De-Lovely is predominantly about Porter’s relationship with Linda, who was aware of his homosexuality when they married. It explores his interest in men, his queer friendships, and even features a little bit of cruising. It’s surprisingly gay for a (mostly) mainstream film released in pre-Brokeback Mountain-era America.
Although the film doesn’t fully explore Linda’s private life, it does suggest that she was likely queer herself. Their marriage was said to be mutually advantageous—he was able to keep seeing men, and she was able to see women while maintaining her place in upper society. Lavender relationships were common during this period, especially for celebrities trying to maintain a heteronormative public persona. These relationships didn’t always last, but Cole and Linda had the advantage of being close friends.
Director Irwin Winkler spoke of their relationship in a 2004 article in The Globe and Mail:
“Not only was this a marriage that lasted 35 years,” he stated, “but also Porter was a man who was also gay in a time when it was considered extremely taboo. Cole and Linda's relationship was very unique, to say the least."
De-Lovely premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in summer 2004 and was later released to mixed reviews. As a marketing strategy, most of the queerness was left out of promotional materials—so it’s no wonder many in the queer community missed it. This happened often when LGBTQ films were widely released: queerness was either completely hidden in promotional material or purposely left ambiguous. Just try to find a promotional poster for De-Lovely that doesn’t feature Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd front and center in a romantic embrace, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.
To find out for yourself just how gay this film is, you can stream it on Prime and Hoopla (Canada/USA), Kanopy and Roku (USA), and MGM+ (Australia/New Zealand/Brazil), or rent/purchase it on Apple TV, Amazon, and YouTube. It’s also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
