Any fan of movies for more than 20 years certainly remembers what got viewers hooked in earlier days of Hollywood filmmaking -- great stories, intriguing characters, stunning sets and marvelous costumes. Director Irwin Winkler’s De-Lovely, the story of songwriter Cole Porter, is once again a Hollywood movie that captures all of those elements missing in so many of today’s films.

Porter had an incredible songwriting career. He spawned hundreds of songs, many used in Broadway shows and film productions. But his life as a gay man and his relationship with his wife, Linda, is the captivating tale Winkler creates in De-Lovely.

“Cole’s life was so contradictory…a married man for 38 years but who was also gay in a time when it was considered extremely taboo,” said Winkler. “Cole and Linda’s relationship was very unique.”

Winkler also chooses a distinctive way to tell his story. He stages Porter’s entire life on a stage in front of an aging Porter, who offers comments, and winds his songs around key moments of the talented songwriter’s life. The tunes we have heard for so long and thought of as just ordinary love songs -- like “Anything Goes” and “Experiment” --  suddenly have a second meaning.

“He is constantly questioning what love is about, as we all do,” said Winkler. “That’s one of the reasons his music has lasted so long.”

Stepping in to fill the shoes of Cole and Linda Porter are Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, both depicting exceptional characters full of heart and passion. Kline was excited to take on the role. “We weren’t going to pull any punches about his homosexuality,” said Kline, “but Linda was Cole’s muse, his inspiration, his taskmistress, and they had a deep abiding love for one another that was unique and that was refreshing to play.”

Playing a dancer, singer and pianist took considerable work on Kline’s part. Once an aspiring pianist himself, the versatile actor honed his piano skills and worked with a voice coach, even though Porter was not much of a singer, and Winkler didn’t want Kline to come off too polished. “Literally about 90% of Kevin’s singing in the movie was done live on the set,” said Charles Winkler, Irwin’s son and a producer on the film. “That’s unheard of.”

Ashley Judd equally embraced her role as Linda, the woman who may have been responsible for the world’s discovery of Porter’s music. “She has this great inner and outer beauty about her that was essential to the character,” said Charles Winkler.

A cast including real-life artists performing many of Porter’s songs enhances Kline and Judd’s strong performances. Diana Krall’s energetic “I Get A Kick Out of You,” Sheryl Crow’s saucy “Begin the Beguine,” Elvis Costello’s enticing “Let’s Misbehave.” Natalie Cole’s sorrowful “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” and Alanis Morissette’s hopeful “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall In Love” are only a few of the wonderful tunes that heighten the enjoyment of this film.

The visual beauty of the movie is credited to accomplished cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts, dazzling sets by production designer Eve Stewart, and gorgeous costumes --  some 1200 in all -- by Janty Yates with a helping hand from Armani, who personally worked on Kline and Judd’s 90-some outfits and provided them for free.

De-Lovely represents what many of us film addicts go to movies for -- to be so absorbed in a story we lose all sense of time, so entranced in the music we want the soundtrack, and so enamored of the production values we expect Oscar nominations for such a totally entertaining film.   

(Released by MGM and rated “PG-13” for sexual content.)