For a gay old time, catch this wonderful musical about the life
of famous American songwriter, Cole Porter.
Cole was notoriously gay, but he lived up to the social conventions
of his time by marrying Linda Porter. Their relationship was based
on mutual respect, rather than romantic love and attraction. But
Cole's gay sex life slowly took a toll on his long-suffering wife.
Indeed, an earlier biopic of Cole called Night And Day
was made in 1946, but the film blatantly ignored the fact that Cole
had many male lovers. That we can now watch De-Lovely —
replete with scenes of Cole seducing men — certainly attests
to the fact that the gay rights movement in the United States has
come a long, long way.
(Hopefully someday, Singapore will arrive at that destination too
— when Royston Tan can direct a biopic of songwriter Dick
Lee and his ex-wife Jacintha Abishegenadan — that other marriage
based on mutual respect.)
With as much glorious music as there are witty dialogue and fine
performances, De-Lovely is the die-die-must-watch of the
week.