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De-Lovely Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 3.0
    53

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Mixed or average reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 20

    out of 100

    Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

    A limited movie that can't animate its subject amid all the tricks and glitz. De-Lovely is devoid of life.

  • 30

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

    Something certainly blows here, but it isn't the archangel's horn.

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  • 50

    out of 100

    The New York Times Stephen Holden

    A movie so lifeless and drained of genuine joie de vivre it makes you long for the largely fictional earlier film.

    Read Full Review

  • 63

    out of 100

    USA Today Claudia Puig

    De-Lovely has its moments of delight. Its defects lie mostly in failing to fully delineate what made musical icon Cole Porter tick.

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  • 70

    out of 100

    Variety Todd McCarthy

    Benefits greatly from Kevin Kline's outstanding performance as the ultra-sophisticated songwriter whose resilient marriage anchored a complicated double life.

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  • 70

    out of 100

    The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

    A sprightly musical revue built around Cole Porter songs and a few biographical tidbits culled from his extraordinary life.

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  • 83

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

    De-Lovely is something dishy and rare: a biopic about a happy, and even enchanted, man.

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  • 88

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    A musical and a biography, and brings to both of those genres a worldly sophistication that is rare in the movies.

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  • See all De-Lovely reviews at Metacritic.com

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 15+

The music is de-lovely, but not much else is.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has explicit sexual references for a PG-13. A theme of the movie is Porter's life as a semi-closeted gay man and the stress this put on his relationship with his wife. There is also a reference to a miscarriage (including some blood), the (offscreen) death of a child, and severe injury resulting from a horseback-riding accident. Characters drink and smoke a great deal (one dies of emphysema).

  • Families can talk about what drew Cole and Linda to each other. What did each of them want from the relationship? What did each of them get? Families may want to discuss Cole's bitterness at the end of his life. Would he have been so bitter if he had spent more of his time differently? What do people have to do to maintain a sense of satisfaction and the ability to continue to develop relationships with others at the end of their lives?

What to watch for
  • violence false0

    Violence: Tense and sad scenes, horseback-riding accident, sad death.

  • sex false5

    Sex: Explicit sexual situations and references for a PG-13.

  • language false3

    Language: Some strong language.

  • consumerism false0

    Consumerism: Not an issue

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: A lot of drinking and smoking.

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