by Daniel White
Peter Bogdanovich's much maligned At Long Last Love (1975) deserves a second chance. Hardly the fiasco critics declared it was, the film is actually quite enjoyable. While no masterpiece, it is an amiable jaunt. Most important, it provides us with 20 or so Cole Porter tunes, all worth listening to, performed competently by three out of our four headliners. Only Cybill Shepherd disappoints and even she is not excruciatingly bad. Just a wee bit annoying.
Burt Reynolds is the real surprise here as millionaire playboy, Michael O. Pritchard. He can't really sing and isn't much of a dancer, but his screen persona is so relaxed and pleasant it doesn't matter.
Madeline Kahn can sing and dance, and it's satisfying to see the lovable comic screwball playing a romantic role for perhaps the only time in her film career. From a weightless, barely there screenplay (courtesy of Bogdanovich), she is able to conjure up real emotion. Her Kitty O'Kelly, a Broadway musical comedy star, may be madcap, but as her plans for romance start to unravel, Kahn poignantly shows us her wistful side as well. Duilio Del Prete plays the other male lead and he certainly is personable. An Italian, who cares if he occasionally sounds like a third rate impression of Maurice Chevalier?
Thankfully, pros like Eileen Brennan, John Hilllerman and Milfred Natwick are on board to adroitly pick up the slack when one of our four protagonists occasionally stumbles. The real star is Cole Porter and his music. The players gamely tackle his more famous tunes and some obscure ones, and they are delightful, delicious, and yes, delovely. Nobody excels, but nobody is a total embarrassment (not even Cybill) and the score is wonderful. Sung live while performing the numbers, it may not be 100% rewarding but it's grand to be reacquainted with Mr. Porter's music. Fetchingly evoking 1930's Manhattan, At Long Last Love is currently available on YouTube.
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