Hollywood has always had a difficult time giving us honest portrayals of gay historical figures — Alexander the Great, Michelangelo, and Hans Christian Andersen — to name a few.

Now, on the occasion of the studio's 80th anniver­sary, MGM gets it right with De-Lovely, a spectacular musical portrait of American composer Cole Porter. Whether Porter (Kevin Kline) was bisexual or gay, he defi­nitely enjoyed the company of men. From his romantic duet with his male lead in The Gay Divorcee, to sharing a lover with Diaghilev, to picking up hustlers in a 1930s Hollywood gay bar, De-Lovely doesn't shy away from Porter's gay life. But despite these numerous liaisons and several longtime male lovers, Porter remained married for 30 years to Linda Lee Porter (Ashley Judd), his wife and muse in a complicated but deeply loving relationship.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Irwin Winkler, De-Lovely opens with Porter look'ing back on his life as if it were one of his spectacular stage shows. Through elab­orate production numbers and hits like "Anything Goes," "It's De-Lovely," and "Night and Day," sung by some of today's biggest rock and pop stars including Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams, Natalie Cole, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, and Diana Krall, De-Lovely is a sparkling celebration of Porter's music, a stirring exploration of the artist's journey, and a paean to the undying power of love